Too Far Gone
by HighGreenBunny
Summary: Hiccup has a chance for a somewhat normal life when he earns a full scholarship to Thaddeus Burgess Academy. He begins anew with therapy, a gym membership, and his new personal trainer. But is he too far gone for a chance at happiness? modern!au, HiJack/Frostcup. M In in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello fellow readers. **

**This is HighGreenBunny. I have wanted to write a HiJack fic for like… months now and I didn't have a good concept. So after months of dwelling on idea after idea, I decided to combine a few of them and created this HiJack lovechild. YAY! I have actually been trying to develop the story for this for quite some time and if things go the way I hope, I am aiming to hit at least 150,000 words, excluding authors notes. **

**Also, if anyone would like to beta then please let me know. I have read over this chapter myself like a zillion times— making changes, correcting spelling, blah blah blah—and I am positive there are still some errors that slipped by. **

**Summary: Hiccup has a chance for a somewhat normal life when he earns a full scholarship to Thaddeus Burgess Academy. He begins anew with therapy, a gym membership, and his new personal trainer. But is he too far gone for a chance at happiness?**

**Ugh… that is an awful summary. **

**….fuck :/ **

**NOTE!: I have gone back through here and corrected my mistakes... ugh there was a lot -_-**

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**Too Far Gone?  
Chapter One  
**

'_2:30 a.m...'_

Hiccup stood at the sloped end of the near empty parking lot, save a lone car parked off to the side which was most likely belonged to an employee, lifting his Mughal green eyes from his glowing cell phone screen to the cement building before him as he slipped the device back into the safety of his jean pocket. He didn't understand why it was so hard for him to just go inside, the autumn breeze carried quite a chill as it graced the lone young man and compelled him to wrap his ajar olive jacket and the green duffel he carted with him closer to his thin frame.

"Come on, Hiccup," he uttered to himself, "you have been making up excuses all week to not come here. Now, no one is here… so go."

And with that the chestnut haired lad drug his feet up the sloped parking lot to the building. It was bigger than he had remembered from when he first arrived a few days ago. The old, but well maintained, building loomed over him as he looked up at the sign with buzzing florescent bulbs laminating the barbell logo of the gym: Guardian Fitness & Health Center.

Hiccup was ashamed to be ashamed for having difficulty entering the gym. Maybe it was his poor body image, maybe it was his social anxiety, but whatever the reason, his therapist planted the idea into his head the week prior. She figured that maybe coming here would help eliminate these problems and toning up would make him feel somewhat self-assured instead of hiding in his small one bedroom apartment with his cat or in his college library.

At first he seemed to be on board with the concept and was actually looking forward to it. However, when he first stepped inside to register, his chest tightened from nervousness and after gazing around to the various patrons, he immediately started to regret walking in the door. He felt himself backing away from the line he was standing in and began walking, slowly, backwards to the entrance.

What made him stop in his tracks was when he realized that the line that was in front of him had disappeared and he heard, "_G'day, mate. What can I do for you today,"_ asked a man with a thick Australian accent, who looked to be in his early thirties with salt and pepper hair and a large black tribal tattoo on his left upper arm.

At that point, Hiccup found it would be way too awkward to just turn around and walk out the door when he was there for a reason. But alas, he ended up registering that day and was given a speedy walk through of the fitness center by the Australian man. As the man carted him around the center that he had learned that the gym was open 24 hours, which gave Hiccup a sigh of relief. All his life he had been looked down at because of his appearance and he didn't want his gym experience to be the same. Coming in at a late hour, when most people are usually asleep, he would have the gym to himself and also wouldn't have to worry about a shortage of equipment. It seemed like it would work perfectly since all of his classes were in the afternoon. The tour ended when the two of them had returned to the front desk and Hiccup was given a packet of papers which were filled with various information about the center—sanitation of equipment, lockers, showers, as well as a service for personal training and aerobics that they offered.

However, even after registering that day, Hiccup began to figure up any excuse he could to avoid the place. It wasn't like the people there seemed mean or judgmental. On the contrary, they actually seemed really nice and willing to help out as much as they could. His best friend, Astrid, whom which he spoke daily on the phone with, called him out on this and gave him quite the tongue lashing. He knew that her words held some merit and that was probably why he didn't fuss back as much. Well, now he decided to keep his word and since he had already paid for this month's membership, he figured that it might as well not go to waste.

The auburn haired lad took a glance through the giant plate glass windows once more to see that the building was completely empty of patrons and he felt his nervousness subside a little and paced along the walk way to enter the building. Once inside, he could hear techno music playing. He was thankful it wasn't overbearing and made the floors vibrate. It could be easily drowned out with a pair of ear buds.

Hiccup made his way over to the front desk to sign in. The guy, wearing a bright blue hoodie, behind the counter was obviously not paying attention to him as he approached. After all, he was sitting in a desk chair and had his back turned to Hiccup. His legs were propped up on the opposite counter and he had what looked like a comic book resting in his raised lap. At this angle, Hiccup was able to take notice of the man's rather odd hair. His dark brown hair was close cropped from ear to ear to the base of his neck, but the crown, which had been dyed an impressive snowy white, was longer and stood in unruly angles on the top of his head. Before long, Hiccup found he probably should say something to get his attention instead of gawking at him like a weirdo.

He cleared his throat hoping he could catch the stranger's attention, but no avail. He tried again, louder this time, but still nothing. Hiccup could see that he wasn't wearing any headphones or ear buds and he was getting a bit testy from the fact that this guy was ignoring him, probably thinking if he ignored him he would go away. The brunette sighed in frustration and lulled his head over his shoulders before getting closer to the counter.

"Uhh, excuse me," he called, only to be ignored once more. '_Seriously? What is with this guy?' _ "Hey!" still nothing.

Hiccup pursed his lips as his eyebrows became closely knitted together and sat his bag down beside the counter and leaned over, "Hey! Dude, why are you ignor— wait…" '_Is he… is he asleep?'_

It was then when Hiccup had leaned over as far as he could, without his feet lifting from the ground, that he could hear soft snores coming from the guy. He was indeed asleep and by what Hiccup could see, he was a pretty deep sleeper at that. He rolled his eyes and leaned over farther, his feet off the ground, and shook the man's shoulder lightly, "Hey, wake up."

What he wasn't expecting was when the odd haired man to suddenly leap from his chair, almost falling, sending the comic book that rested in his lap somewhere across the counter as he sprung to his full height, "WHOA! WHAT!? WHO ARE YOU?!" he practically yelled at Hiccup as he quickly slid back to the ground on the opposite side to avoid getting hit by flailing arms.

Before Hiccup could say anything, the man suddenly calmed as he looked around, taking in his surroundings, "Ooh yeah… I'm at work," he said to himself with a soft chuckle, but loud enough for Hiccup to hear, before turning his attention to the brunette across from him that was retrieving his duffel from the floor, "Sorry about that. Long week," he stated shortly, then yawned. He turned his attention to the computer that was at the end of the counter.

Hiccup felt the corners of his mouth curling upwards and a small wry chuckle escaped as he shook his head, "Is this a habit of yours?" he asked, gesturing his thin freckled arm to him. It was something that not only Hiccup, but all the people of Berk were accustomed to—aside from being loud— they all were very active when it came to talking with their hands. Hiccup was no different. He adopted the active gesturing himself, and after a while he gave up on trying to break the habit.

"Is what a habit?" the man asked back, glancing passed the glowing screen before him, obviously he wasn't fully awake.

Hiccup cocked an eyebrow, "Um, falling asleep on the job?"

A goofy smirk formed on the other's face and his shoulders relaxed a bit, "Well, I would be lying if I said it wasn't."

"Aren't you worried somebody would come in here and, I don't know…, steal stuff?" the brunette asked, only to have the guy give him a blank stare before he burst out laughing, taking him aback, "What's so funny?"

The man pointed to the scanner, indicating that he was ready for Hiccup to scan his membership card, "Well, I tell ya what, if someone can come in here and get one of those machines out that door without either waking me or me noticing them doing it, they can keep it. Because if they are talented enough to do that, than they are probably some type of super assassin."

The brunette couldn't help but laugh at the man's odd statement, even though he did have a good point. He pulled his membership card from his wallet and scanned it at the indicated scanner on the counter and replacing it back in said wallet, "Well, I suppose I can't argue with that logic," he stated lightly.

The man laughed as he saw the freckled man backing away from the counter, "Well, have a good work-out, Mr. Haddock," he chirped, obviously reading Hiccup's name off the screen from where he just scanned his card, but still earned a half-hearted wave from the smaller man. He left Hiccup to head to the locker room while he began to search for his comic that had gone missing-in-action.

Hiccup entered the men's locker room, but not before stealing one more glimpse of the man that was looking around the floor behind the counter. A small grin remained on his features until he disappeared behind the door. He couldn't help, but think that the man was intriguing. He had unusual hair, yes, but he was very handsome too. He hated admitting another man was handsome, but this was one of those circumstances that _any_ man—gay, straight, whatever— would take a second look or may stare a little longer than intended. It wasn't a crime. In fact he was pretty sure the stranger would be flattered to hear from another man he was quite good looking… at least telling himself that would help him sleep at night.

Once inside he found him an empty locker— which since the place was empty it wasn't too hard of a task—and dressed into his work-out clothes which was a white sleeveless shirt, hunter's green basketball shorts, and a pair of worn sneakers, before throwing his duffel into the locker, locking the lock, and making his way out of the room.

There was a large range of machines and equipment to choose from. There were also areas that were sectioned off for certain types of exercises: stretching, abs, heavy weights, etc. And of course, the large main room contained stair steppers, treadmills, ellipticals, exercise bikes, and various cardio machines. Hiccup looked over the machines trying to figure out how he would even use them. He climbed onto a treadmill and pressed the QUICK START button, only to have the machine's belt to take off on high speed making him almost fall off. He quickly slapped the STOP button and hopped off to go see what his other options were, or so he told himself.

He found himself in the stretching area of the building, his eyes scanning over the non-electronic equipment. _'This is a nightmare,' _he thought to himself, _'I don't even know where to begin. The descriptions on the machines are so vague, if they have any at all. I don't need to get myself killed.' _Hiccup let out a long exasperated sigh and left the stretching area and headed to the free weights and tried picking up a few only to have his hopes of actually finding something to start out with crushed.

The first one he had retrieved from the rack was a forty-five pound weight that he almost immediately dropped onto his foot, but thankfully missed him by an inch or two. He thanked the Gods that he was the only one in the gym at that point, save the man running the counter. This was humiliating; he couldn't even pick up forty-five pounds. Why did he ever volunteer to do this? Oh yeah, that's right, he wanted to make some changes and this was a good way to start.

After he reminded himself of this he decided to give it another try. He sat with the weights for a while, trying out numerous ones, before soon abandoning them. Not wanting his trip to be all for naught, he continued trying different equipment and eventually settled on the stair climber. The controls of these seemed pretty basic. He pulled himself onto the machine and hit the START button and he felt the stairs start to move at a snail's pace.

"Well, this isn't too bad," he said to himself with a crooked smile on his features. He held onto the rails as he walked to make sure he didn't fall off the thing. The pace remained slow at first, but once he was used to it he sped it up a little bit. Hiccup's mind began to wander, soon tuning out the music that echoed through the gym. First, about getting used to Burgess. He had only been there for about a month when his freshman semester started. Astrid had been nice enough to give him a ride since his father worked, among other reasons.

He was amazed she was willing to give him a ride. Well, she promised him she would, but he figured that when the time came she would back out of it. Burgess was a good six to seven hour drive from his port-side home town of Berk and gas is not cheap. But he couldn't have been happier when she showed up and loaded up off his stuff in her mom's borrowed grey 2001 Chevrolet blazer and he left Berk.

It's wasn't like he hated Berk in itself, but the people living there made is difficult for someone like Hiccup to thrive. Not to mention certain memories that Berk held, good and bad—bad mostly, made looking at his surrounding unbearable at times. There were times when he could look and replay fond memories, mainly of his mother, but eventually even those became painful.

Despite the fact that Berk wasn't his most favorite place, it was still his home. It was all he knew and that had to count for something. His mind then wandered to his possible future here in Burgess: the friends he will make, getting his degree, and experiencing life outside his small village. It was exciting just thinking about it. Maybe finding someone he would be proud to say he was with. The crooked smile had returned to his face and his cheeks began to heat up and not just from walking as long as he had.

Burgess seemed to hold something promising for his future. Thaddeus Burgess Academy had offered him a full scholarship, plus room and board, and even though Hiccup was still trying to adjust to the change, he felt more accepted amongst the faceless crowds than in his entire village, save a very few people. His father, Stoick "the vast", was the head over the docks and had been for the last twenty years. Since Berk's main source of trade was depended on the docks, Stoick became their quote-unquote "Chief".

His father was the quintessence of their Viking heritage and also a born leader. He was great at what he did and was always firm, but fair. It would have seemed like his father had all his ducks in a row, but out of all his accomplishments, Hiccup was apparently not one of them. Hiccup was not like the others in his village. The other guys in Berk his age were huge, had big beefy arms, stood at six feet tall, and were already on their way of growing a mighty beard. Hiccup, who would be considered normal size anywhere else, was 5 foot 9 and was lucky that he had stubble on his chin.

He knew that his father loved him, even though since his beloved wife, Valka, died it was showed less and less. He still had hope that his father cared for him, but just wasn't good at showing it. At least that's what Hiccup told his therapist.

"Excuse me," came a somewhat recognizable voice that interrupted his thoughts. Hiccup snapped his head to the side of the machine where he heard the voice coming from. It was, of course, the only other person there. Hiccup carded his fingers through his hair that had begun to mat down with perspiration and pushed it out of his sight. He couldn't help but take notice that the blue hoodie the man was wearing was now missing. Instead, he was in a white shirt with the center's logo that was located on his left pectoral.

It became apparent that the man was very fit, not big and gross with all his veins bulging hard against his skin, but fit. The contours of his arms and chest were easily definable through the cotton fabric. His body shape was picturesque on what Hiccup was aiming to become. He knew that no matter how hard he would try that there would never be a way his body would allow him to be a big buff man. Even if he could, he wouldn't. Hiccup always thought that men who were incredible buff— veins protruding, limited mobility, and looking like their bodies would explode at any moment—that look never really appealed to him at all. He found it to be pretty gross.

He stared at the odd haired man with confusion on his features before he hit the STOP button on the control pad, causing the machine to come to a halt. Did he have to leave? No, it was a 24 hour gym. Was there something wrong with his membership? These were just a few questions that he was able to ask himself before the man continued, "I couldn't help but notice that you, um, well, seemed a bit lost earlier. Clearly you have found something now, but you were kinda wandering around the gym for like 45 minutes to an hour looking pretty lost," he gave a small grin, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, "I didn't want to say anything then because at first I figured you were just checking things out, but then it kinda dawned on me. Anyways, I was just gonna let you know that we do offer a personal training program and if you are interested, I'd be more than happy to help you out. It is my job after all."

Oh gods, this was embarrassing. This guy actually sat there and watched him almost fly off of a treadmill that was going full speed, almost crushing his foot with a weight he couldn't lift, and wandering aimlessly around this place for an hour. Hiccup's face began to glow a brilliant shade of red due to the embarrassment, "Uhhh... wow… heh," he sputtered, "Thank you for summing that up for me. If I had known you were watching me make an idiot of myself I probably wouldn't have made it so obvious that I was clueless on how to work these machines," he deadpanned. The man chuckled heartily, flashing his beautifully white teeth. Though he had embarrassed himself, Hiccup couldn't help but notice his amazing smile. His teeth were incredibly straight and sparkled like freshly fallen snow.

"It's no biggie, really. You are not the first to come in here and wander around lost. I have seen people try to take off full speed on the treadmill and end up flying off and smacking the wall, so I think you are good," he said, sending Hiccup a small gesture.

Hiccup slumped onto the rail of the machine, letting his fingers nervously scratch the back of his head which he mainly did out of habit, "That doesn't really help," he replied flatly, "but anyways, I don't know. What all would I be doing," he asked stepping down from the machine.

"First, I would get your weight and depending on your goals, I would arrange a work out that would help you achieve that. Also, I can give you dieting advice/plans that can help you out as well," he explained, "That's if you are planning in making a habit of coming in at this time. I normally work nights and as you can see we are slammed at this hour."

Hiccup chuckled as he eyed the empty center, before bringing his attention back to the man as he continued, "But it is up to you. It's not something you have to do, but it's out in the open for you to think about. Anyways, I'll leave ya be." And with that the man turned on his heels and began walking back to his post behind the counter. The brunette began to think of what would be in store for him if he had taken the man up on his offer. He had heard horror stories about personal trainers and how they tend to expect a person to change quickly and yell in your face like a drill sergeant and that was something Hiccup didn't particularly want to have happen. But the man didn't seem like the type to do something like that. He couldn't picture anyone in this center doing that here mainly because it gave off a mellow atmosphere.

He pushed himself off the railing of the machine and walked over to the water fountain, taking a nice long drink before looking over at the clock and saw that it was almost 4:00 a.m. and that he had better head out since he had class that coming afternoon. But as be made his way to the locker room he glanced over to the counter, seeing the man beginning to clean off the counter of miscellaneous papers and then disinfecting its surface. Hiccup's brown eyebrows knitted together as he looked down at his thin body and then back to the man. _'hmm, I suppose I could give this a shot and if I don't like it I can always just go do my own thing,'_ he thought to himself as he made his way to the front.

The man's eyes glanced over at him and a smile cracked across his face, "What's up?"

"I, uh, well, I think I'll go ahead and give it a shot. As long as you don't like, I don't know, scream in my face and make my arms fall off," the brunette replied.

The man behind the counter laughed. He seemed to have been enjoying Hiccup's dry, sarcastic humor since the guy first walked in the door. Even though it was obvious that the guy has poor body image, he seemed like he carried himself well, "No, I don't scream in people's faces, I don't know who could be motivated by that. I would punch someone in the throat that's for damn sure," he quipped with a mischievous grin, "And as for your arms falling off, well, they won't fall completely off. You will be a bit sore, but it will pass depending on how often you come up here."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Well, that's good to know. Anyways, I'm going to try to come up here as much as I possibly can. So maybe 4 or 5 times a week," which the last part was more of a question than a statement.

"That's great!" he exclaimed and reached over and grabbed a piece of paper and pen and began scribbling something down, "I'm giving you my work schedule so you'll know what days I'll be here," he explained as he handed the paper to Hiccup and extending his hand to him, "I'm Jackson, or Jack, whichever you prefer. I look forward to working with you."

Hiccup took his hand after grabbing the paper and shook, "Nice to meet you, Jackson. I go by Hiccup."

The smile from Jack's face faded into an expression of disbelief, "'Hiccup?' Is that your real name?" he asked, slowly pulling his hand back.

"No, it's a nickname," he replied, slowly.

"Ah… well that's a pretty cool nickname," he said, his chipper smile returning, "My full name is actually Jackson Overland-Frost…, or Jack Frost," he said with less enthusiasm, earning a laugh from the younger man.

"Seriously? That's fantastic," he chirped through his chuckles, "Well, Mr. Jack Frost, I hope you don't kill me in the near future with strenuous work-outs. Now I'm gonna go change, I actually need to head out. But I will be back tomorrow night."

Jack nodded and shook his head as he watched the skinny man walk off towards the locker room and disappear behind the door. He could tell this guy was going to be fun. It had been quite some time since he had had the opportunity to train someone since he moved to the graveyard shift. Normally people left around 1 a.m. at the latest. But since summer was gone and autumn was settling in and besides a few college students studying for exams and need to clear their heads and few stragglers that would appeared ever so often, he was pretty much by himself. He never understood why North, the owner and manager, insisted on making the gym 24 hours. Then again he wasn't going to complain, he worked a 9 hour shift and had minimal cleaning—taking out trash, refilling the disinfecting spray bottles, cleaning bathrooms—and that was something he could do within a 2 to 3 hour period. So for the most part he would work-out himself, catch up on sleep, or watch TV in the lounge.

But despite him now going to miss out on sleeping time, he felt that training this Hiccup guy was a way better use of time. He just hoped that the guy was serious about it. Jack had several occasions where he was going to train someone, but they ended just wasting his time.

Jack's attention turned toward the locker room door as he heard the door shutting in that direction and smiled at the reappearance of the freckled lad. He had changed back into his normal clothes and was carrying his green duffel over his shoulder. The bi-colored hair man smiled as he passed the counter, "Have a good night," he said with a small wave. Jack waved, "Take it easy," he replied as he watched Hiccup walked out the door.

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**Holy shnikes! I finished a chapter! WHOOOOOO! *throws confetti everywhere* Ok, now I know that this chapter maybe a bit boring, but how many opening chapters are action packed? …that's what I thought. **

**As for Jack's hair, I wanted to go for a 'split personality' appearance. There is a reason for it that will be explained later. But obviously, he will be showing physical traits of both Jackson Overland and Jack Frost, hence the name and hair.**

**As for Hiccup he is kinda in the middle. I kinda see him pretty much as Hiccup from the first movie, only taller and his hair is a little bit longer. **

**I am now working on the second chapter so… yeah… keep a watchful eye for it. **

**Until next time, my sweets X3**

**Comments are not required, but appreciated. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, I am so happy to finally get the second chapter uploaded. Just to let you guys know, we have just barely scratched the surface of the story. We dig a little bit into Hiccup's past, learning a bit about his life in Berk before coming to Burgess, a bit about his mother, and a few other details. We also begin to learn a bit about Jack. **

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy. =D**

**NOTE!: If anyone is wanting to be a beta, feel free to send me a PM on here or tumblr. **

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**Too Far Gone**

**Chapter 2**

When Hiccup arrived home that morning, it was almost 5 a.m. He was greeted at the door of his apartment by Toothless, his black Norwegian Forest cat. The lad smiled down at his furry companion, "Hey, bud," he spoke with a crooked smile. He flicked the light on that was on the wall by the door where he kicked off his shoes and threw his duffel on into the hunter green arm chair as he passed it. When he ventured into his small apartment it became apparent to him that Toothless had grown bored whilst he was gone.

Littering the floor were his school books, papers, and pretty much anything that was on the counter and coffee table. Hiccup let out a deep sigh and looked over at the culprit who merely flicked his tail at the sight of his owner's eyes meeting his bright green ones, "Seriously, Toothless?" he asked, not expecting an answer, as he began picking up the mess he was greeted with, "You really couldn't find anything else better to do than to destroy my apartment that I just cleaned earlier?"

Toothless let out a loud _meow_ and began to purr, knowing that his owner couldn't stay mad at him. He rubbed against Hiccup's legs, almost causing the boy to trip several times. When he saw that Hiccup was paying more attention to the mess at hand than to him he jumped up onto the coffee table and mused himself by watching the brunette clean up the mess.

Hiccup finally finished picking up the surprise mess he came home to and placed the stack of papers onto the coffee table. He was tired and needed sleep. As he walked down the hallway to his room he turned and looked at Toothless who was perched on the wooden coffee table, "Now bud, I am only going to tell you this one more time: stop messing up the place. If you keep it up I will break out those eel flavored treats you _love_ so much," he said in a teasing tone.

Toothless snorted and narrowed his toxic green eyes at his owner who looked at him with a big satisfied smirk on his face. He lifted his paw and after giving a few graceful licks, placed it on top of the stack of papers that was just recently placed there by his trusting owner and proceeded to push them off, scattering them once more across the floor.

Hiccup's eyes widened, "Toothless!" but before Hiccup had a chance to react, the cat simply disappeared from sight. He should have expected this from the furry beast. This would not be the first time something like this has happened. Ever since he got Toothless the cat has quite the smartass personality. Yes, his cat was a smartass. He never knew that an animal could act so human until he met Toothless. Even though he couldn't talk, he answered Hiccup when spoken to and was able to get his points across to his owner when he wanted to be fed, left alone, or when Hiccup made him mad, he could get back at him—this being a perfect example of that.

The auburn haired boy let out another annoyed sigh as he stared at the papers that were once scattered all over the floor. He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head in annoyance, "I'm not even going to bother with you right now," he spoke into the room, know his cat was still somewhere in there, "You win. I'll pick it up tomorrow." And with that, he slapped the light off and drug his feet as he made his way back to his room.

He dressed into his night clothes, a simple oversize black t-shirt and baggy olive green night pants, and flopped down on the bed, not bothering with a shower at the moment; he figured he would just take one when he got up. Even though he was annoyed at what Toothless had done in the living room, he wouldn't dream of not letting the large, green eyed cat sleep in his normal spot at the end of the bed, which he had claimed during Hiccup's dressing. He reached down and rubbed the mischievous creature's soft fur before reclaiming comfort under the covers and drifting off to sleep as the morning sun began to peer in through his window.

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Jack stood on the roof of the building, leaning against the cement load bearing wall, gazing passed the trees where he could see the sun creep up behind the spotty, grey clouds. The crisp autumn morning was easing its way, gingerly, through the lightening sky of Burgess. The foliage reaching its peak, painting the leaves that gracefully floated to the ground, with striking golds, reds, and oranges. Jack had spent many mornings on the roof, taking in the serene atmosphere the city had to offer in its slumber. Even during the slow summer months, he would sit up there all night.

As the light of the morning sky grew brighter, the small city below him was slowly beginning to come alive. The traffic light had stopped blinking and the streets slowly began to fill with cars and noise, killing the picturesque moment Jack was living in solitude on the roof. Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head in annoyance as he made his way to the latter and climbed down and entered the building through the back door he had left propped open.

It was close to 7 a.m. when Jack's relief, Aster Bunnymund, arrived. How the tall Australian man bust through the doors, like he always did, bright eyed and bushy tailed was beyond Jack's comprehension. He greeted the younger man as he came behind the counter, casually inspecting it to see if Jack actually did his work from the previous night or just slept.

"So, mate, did anything interesting come about last night?" he asked, his accent soaking his words.

Jack smiled and sat down on the counter, watching amusingly as Aster inspected his work, "Actually, yeah." His eyes brightening as he thought about the occurrences that happened only a few hours ago, "I finally have me someone to train."

Aster peered over at him. He approached the bi-color haired man and popped at his butt a few times, indicating for Jack to not sit on the counter, "Jackie, counter surfaces are for glasses, not asses," he stated firmly, making Jack sigh heavily before coming to his feet once more.

"So, who is the sorry, sad sack that is gonna have the _privilege_ being trained by you," Aster teased, with a snicker.

"Hey!" he pouted, crossing his arms, "I'm a good trainer. I'm young, fit, and can take you down, Peter Cottontail." Aster rolled his eyes at the nickname. He knew Jack loved to tease him about his name along with his age. It was a common occurrence. However, Aster wasn't that old, he was only 32 and in impeccable shape at that. The Aussie was solid as a rock and dare he say, handsome as well—muscular arms, sharp jawline, enviable six-pack, short salt and pepper hair that carried a hint of wave to it, and bright ivy green eyes. And even though Jack teased him about his age, if the opportunity of challenging the older man ever came up, Jack would most likely turn it down out of know he would have his ass handed to him.

The older male took off his grey sweater he was wearing and hung it on the back of the chair before coming back around the counter and proceeding to check out Jack's work, making sure there wasn't any slacking off. Jack trailed behind him as Aster checked the disinfecting sprays and paper towel dispensers, "Anyways, the person you are training," the salt and pepper haired man turned his attention back to Jack, "do they seem like they are serious about it or do they seem like are gonna do a few sessions and quit?"

Jack crossed his arms and crinkled his brow in thought. He had only spoken to Hiccup for a few minutes and as far as he could tell the guy really did need some motivation. He had seen many people like Hiccup come and go over the years, so it was hard to tell. All he knew was he liked the guy so far. He seemed like he could hold a great conversation, "Well, to be honest, I'm not sure. But, we'll see." He chimed, optimistically.

"Well, just remember to not push them too hard at first," Aster told him as he started heading back to the front, Jack in tow, "because if they are pushed too hard at the beginning they are more likely to give up sooner."

Jack rolled his eyes, "Thank you for that, Ol' Wise One. I think Hiccup will be fun to train. I do think he has poor self-esteem though."

Aster cocked a dark eyebrow, "Hiccup? Little skinny bloke?" he asked, gesturing the cinnamon haired boy's small stature.

"Yeah, you know him?" Jack asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Well, no, not personally. He registered here a few days ago. I only remember him because he was the only person I registered this week and his weird name," he said with a chuckle, "He looked pretty nervous when he came in. I thought for a moment he was going to run out of here."

Jack snorted, "Well, you are a scary old man. Plus I believe he said that it was a nickname."

Aster rolled his eyes, and playfully smacked at the younger male, which Jack dodged, "Oh, rack off, Frost. It's quittin' time for you anyways and I can only handle you in moderation."

Jack laughed as he jumped out of the way of Aster's swing. He didn't need to be told twice that he could go. He grabbed his hoodie and keys that were in the back room before sprinting towards the door, "Oh!" he turned back to Aster, "North said he was gonna be here around 4 o'clock instead of three and don't forget about practice tomorrow!" and with that he out the door and jumped in his car.

* * *

The office was quite cool this time around as Hiccup sat slightly reclined in the plush tan couch that his therapist had offered to him. Dr. Toothiana sat attentively, with her legs propping up her notepad, at the opposite end of the sofa. She was a petite woman and looked like she was from Asian descent. She had medium blonde hair that was in a partial upward style, dyed with mostly streaks of turquoise along with some purple and pink. She wasn't someone who would come across as a doctor on first sight. However, Dr. Toothiana was a very sweet person and easy to talk to. She didn't throw prescriptions at you when you first walked into the door or sit there with saying "Mm-hmm and does that make you feel?" she actually held conversation.

Even though he had only been seeing her for a short while, Hiccup found that therapy wasn't as bad as he initially thought it to be. He looked over at his flamboyant doctor and waited until she had finished scribbling in her notepad. She looked up at him with her vibrant violet colored eyes, which he figured to be contacts, and smiled, "Okay, Hiccup, so you went to the gym, that's great to hear! And you signed up with a personal trainer! It seems to me that you have better control over your anxieties than you give yourself credit for."

Hiccup shrugged and let his eyes sweep across the room before coming back to Toothiana, "Well, despite the initial embarrassment of having the guy watch me make a fool of myself, yeah I think it went pretty well."

The petite woman shook her head and exhaled, "But we all do things like that. I have had my fair share of blunders myself and I know my daughter has too. Except her's is more of not knowing when to stop taking," she said with a small chuckle, "But you have to not worry about what some people think, especially if it's a total stranger and you may never see them again," she explained, earning a small nod from him. It's not like Hiccup didn't know this, it was more of something he couldn't help but let happen.

"Now," she announced, clapping her hands together, "the last time you were here you spoke about your father. If you would like to expand on that, maybe I can get a better understanding of your relationship, or lack thereof?"

Hiccup let out a deep breath. His father was a difficult subject. He didn't hate him, in fact, he loved his father very much, and it was the lack of communication over the years that built the wall between them. His father didn't even know he was in therapy. The last time he spoke to him was the day after he moved into his apartment.

"My father," he began, letting out a sigh, "he isn't and hasn't really ever been the epitome of parenthood. A lot of it has to do with our community, traditions, and just overall culture." He looked at Toothiana with sad eyes and she returned to him a simple nod and look of understanding, "You said that your family and community are descended from Norway and still held some of the traditions of the old Vikings, correct?" she scribbled more in her notepad once getting his approved nod.

"Yes and because of that, I guess you could say I was born a disappointment. Everyone in Berk is, like huge. I am seriously thinking they put something in the water supply. They all are real tall, have the arms of a bull on steroids, and the attitude to match. Then there is me, the small, weak, meek, nasally voiced, little hiccup—the runt of the litter. That's why I go by Hiccup and not Hamish," he explained, shifting on the couch, turning so his back is against the arm, "I was just not up to par. Well, except to my mother. She was always the one who saw me as a person."

Toothiana tapped her philtrum with her pen, "I'm sure your father sees you as a person too. Maybe he just doesn't know how to express it. Do you still speak to your mother?"

Hiccup shook his head, averting his gaze, "I have tried, but I haven't gotten a response yet. She died when I was thirteen from breast cancer. And I believe the day she died, my father did too. He took pretty much all the pictures down and put them in an album, along with some of her clothes and he keeps them in his closet. He doesn't really like talking about her anymore and he really didn't speak to me that much afterwards. It's like he is on autopilot. The only people he speaks to is his best friend, Gobber and his friend Oswald."

The multicolored haired woman hummed in acknowledgement and was quiet for a moment before shifting in her seat, "I am so sorry about your mother, Hiccup. Cancer is a terrible thing and I am sorry your mother had to go through that. However, when it comes to your father, it seems to me that he has stalled in the bereavement stages. Everyone goes through them differently and sometimes people stall. Some leave bedrooms untouched for decades, some will refuse to wash clothing, and some retract themselves away from the ones they love most. He may not have just lost a wife and mother of his child, but a best friend as well," she explained, her eyes showing a glint of sorrow.

Hiccup nodded at the explanation, he knew what she was saying. He figured this much years ago, but to have it acknowledged by a professional shined a new light on the theory. This, also, wasn't the first time he had heard this. However, at the time he hardly wanted to talk to anyone let alone listen to anything they had to say.

He remembered standing in his black suit that was only worn at weddings and funerals, before a beautiful mahogany casket with plush pink bedding where his mother laid. Flowers and cards from friends and the community were set up around the casket. Hiccup remembered looking at her thinking how she looked so peaceful, like she was sleeping. Her hands were folded neatly and resting across her abdomen on top of her favorite old quilt that was given to her years ago by a friend. He remembered how beautiful she looked even though she had lost a significant amount of weight due to the chemotherapy. She was wearing a new pair of pink satin pajamas because she told Hiccup how she thought being buried in a suit looked silly.

He remembered approaching the casket slowly, tears filling his eyes before a small blink helped push them out and they slid down his freckled cheek. Stoick stood solemnly in the back of the room with Gobber, neither of them saying a word. He remembered taking her chilled hand into his and tracing the form of her thin fingers in his as he looked at her. Her soft auburn hair had grown back, but was still shorter than its normal length.

Choked sobs came from him as he leaned over Valka, his beloved mother, begging her to not leave him. He remembered his knees going weak and slowing sliding to the ground, letting go of his mother's hand as he rested his head against the coolness of the casket. He knew that his mother wouldn't have wanted him to be like this. She wouldn't want him to be sad for her, but he just wasn't ready to see her go. He was glad that her painful suffering had ended, but he didn't want her to leave him alone. And in that moment that is exactly how he felt— alone.

He wasn't sure how long he was like that, but the next thing he knew was feeling a large hand on his small shoulder and looking over to see Gobber. Normally the thought of Gobber in a suit would be funny. The man had one hand, that was changeable, and one leg and the thought of him trying to get a suit on and tie a tie, well it was beyond comprehension. He looked at Hiccup with sad eyes and offered his hand to help the boy come to his feet.

Hiccup remembered looking back where his father and Gobber had been standing and saw that he had vanished, but he didn't bother asking the man beside him where he had gone to. The only thing he remembered the robust man telling him, in that thick accent that pretty much all of Berk was infamous for, was, "I will miss Valka very much. She was a damn fine woman and friend. I know things are hard for ya now, but remember, your mother wouldn't have been able to let go if she didn't believe ya were in good hands. Your father," he paused, letting out a heavy sigh, "he may not be showing it now, but he is taking this just as hard as you. He didn't just lose his wife, but he also lost a best friend. Give him time. He'll come around."

But his father never really did go back to being his old self. His father hardly spoke to him and began to bury himself in his work. And it stayed like that for years.

"Hiccup," Dr. Toothiana asked, snapping the brunette out of his thoughts.

Hiccup turned his attention back to the multicolored haired woman who was looking at him with concerned violet eyes. He felt something wet on his face and reached his fingers to his freckled cheek where he felt tears slowly falling from his mossy green eyes. He quickly wiped them away as he felt his face heat up with embarrassment, "I'm sorry," he spoke softly, sniffling, "I didn't think that would happen."

Toothiana sat down her notepad on the couch and came to her feet and walked over to her desk where she retrieved a small box of tissues and returned, offering some to the small lad, which he graciously accepted with a small 'thank you'.

"It's okay to cry, Hiccup. It means you are healing," she said, picking up her notepad and pen once more, "If you would like to talk about your mother, I would be more than happy to listen."

Hiccup wiped the stream of salty tears that had run down his cheeks. He didn't mean to cry, in fact he hated crying. He knew it was supposed to help heal and make you feel better, but it never really did that with him. The pain was always still there and not just the of losing his mother, the pain from the loneliness he suffered for years after, as well as his numerous other demons that dwelled in his closet, and the shame of these demons' existence. What would his mother, who left him behind thinking he was in good hands, do if she knew the things he had done? If she stood before him now, he probably wouldn't be able to look her in her eyes.

Hiccup sighed and thought for a moment, balling the tissue in his sweaty hands, "Um, maybe not today. I will try next time…" he lamented.

"Okay, sweetie, would you like to talk about your ex?" she asked.

Oh boy, he was afraid this would come up. Hiccup's ex was one of the main reasons he was here. The only reason why he hadn't said too much on the subject was because Toothiana wanted to know more about him as a person before slowly chipping away at the surface and digging into the root of his problems. The freckled teen chewed at his bottom lip before shaking his head 'yes'.

"Okay, good. So, have you had any contact with him?" she asked.

"No," Hiccup said, picking at his fingernail, "I lost all contact with Dagur when I came here for school. I even got a new cell phone number just to I wouldn't be tempted to revert back into old habits if he were to try and contact me."

Toothiana nodded, scribbling more in her notepad, "So, this Dagur, how did you too meet?"

The thought of Dagur made the cinnamon haired teen uneasy, but he knew talking about it would help, after all that was why he was here, "My dad's friend that he met while working at the docks, Oswald, Dagur is his son. We have actually known each other for years, but we didn't see much of each other until I was a freshman in high school. Dagur had always been deranged. When I was younger, about six or seven, we went swimming at the beach and proceeded to try and drown me, which he found to be incredibly hilarious and when I would bring it up him he would laugh about it and smile like it was a fond memory."

Toothiana cupped her hands over her mouth, "Oh, my goodness. He tried _drowning_ you?! Why," she asked with the look of terror on her features.

Hiccup almost found himself laughing and he didn't know why, "Well, it wasn't as bad as when he used me for target practice and would throw knives at me."

Toothiana was mortified at this point. What kind of a person did stuff like this and wasn't locked away in an asylum by now? And who would give someone with such violent tendencies sharp objects anyways? "Oh Hiccup, how did you ever end up with someone like that," she found herself asking, not meaning to offend him, but just out of pure curiosity.

"Well," he said, coming to his feet to stretch his legs, "it was something that probably never should have happened. He was a senior in high school and I was a freshman and my dad began to encourage me to hang out with him, I suppose to 'man me up' and it just sort of… happened. I figure that it must have been due to the fact that I was so starved for affection of any kind, I didn't really care where it came from and by then he had calmed down some, he wasn't as aggressive," he sighed as he began pacing around the room and muttered, just above a whisper, "but that didn't last long."

Toothiana noticed the tone of the young man's voice growing between anxious, anger, and sadness. She was incredibly proud of him for being able to voice these feelings with her despite the fact that he was obviously uncomfortable with the subject and even though she still had many questions left to ask she knew that this was a good stopping place, "Sweetie, you don't have to keep talking about it if you don't want to. We can always pick up on it during your next visit. You have already made great strides today and I don't want you feeling like you have to spill everything all out at once."

She sat her pad down and rose to her feet and approached Hiccup. He took notice of her height and how she only came up to his shoulders, making her no taller than 5 foot. She placed a hand on his thin arm, which she could feel through his olive hoodie. She gave him a warm smile that seemed almost motherly towards him. She knew that this young man had been through so much just from the previous sessions and wanted to help him, but she also knew that having him face it all at once could have repercussions.

"Would you be okay if we stopped," he asked.

"Of course! I am not here to rush you. You can tell me anything you want if and when you are ready. You have only been seeing me a few weeks and I want you to feel comfortable telling me, not obligated," she explained as she walked back over to the couch and retrieved her notepad and stocked over to her desk, casually tossing the pad onto the surface.

"Thank you," he said with a small crooked smile, "I'll see you next week."

As he made his way to the door Toothiana called out to him, "Oh! Hiccup, I have something for you." He watched as the petite woman began to rummage through her desk drawer. Within a minute or two she pulled out a small book and brought it to him, "Here you go," she said as she handed him the book. He noticed that the small green book was bound with twine and had a small decorative clasp that held it shut. He opened it and found that the pages were all blank. He peered back over at the woman before him, "A journal?"

She chuckled and combed her fingers through her hair, "Yeah, I made it. It's one of mine and my daughter's many hobbies. But I want you to have that one. It's not mandatory or anything, but if it helps, write down things that have been bothering you and may want to talk about, things you want to get off your chest, or whatever," she told him.

"Oh, well, thank you. I like to write so I am sure I can put it to good use," he chimed as he headed out the door.

* * *

The trees swayed in the winds of an on-coming storm. The foliage rained through the autumn night and crunched under Hiccup's footfalls as he made his way down the side walk. He could hear the occasional rumble of thunder in the distance. It wasn't common for storms like this to roll through this part of the country at this time of year, but they did happen and when most people tried to stay out of the storm's path by hiding away inside and occasionally stealing glances through the windows, Hiccup never minded to be out in it. He enjoyed the feeling of the winds tussle his hair about and the soft raindrops on his skin; he even enjoyed a nice lightning show.

Tonight was no different, as he approached the gym, noticing the same lone car in the parking lot. He took a moment to watch the trees dance as the wind blew through them. A soft rumble of thunder could be heard and was then accompanied by a flash of lightning in the distance that seemed almost therapeutic in a way. Hiccup paced up the sloped parking lot to the cement building and peered in through the large windows. He looked toward the front desk and could see that it was empty. He shrugged it off to a number of reasons why Jack had abandoned his post, for all he knew the bi-color haired man was in the restroom.

Hiccup entered the main entrance, immediately noticing the techno music that played over the speakers. He felt a slight awkwardness, not knowing exactly what he should be doing. Did he wait for Jack or did he go ahead and dress out? He exhaled heavily and decided while he waited for his elusive trainer to reappear he would go dress out.

As he approached the locker rooms he noticed that there were two black pole stands with a black nylon rope that stretched across the entrance and a sign that read 'CLOSED FOR CLEANING'. Hiccup rolled his eyes and scoffed. Well, at least now he had a pretty good idea of where Jack was. He turned his attention to the set of tables that were by the windows. He figured he would just go sit over there and wait until his trainer was done doing whatever it was he was doing.

As he walked away from the door something caught his attention. He heard the normal techno/dance music over the speakers, but what he was hearing was not coming from them. It was muffled and quite loud, but he couldn't figure where it was coming from. He pulled out his phone and checked it to see if it was ringing, hoping it wasn't, he had already spoke to Astrid earlier and she told him she was going to bed because she had to work early the next morning. He had a small panic attack because the only reason someone would call this late was if something bad had happened, but when he looked at the glowing screen and saw that it wasn't that and that allowed his pacing heart to calm.

There was only one other place that it could have been coming from and that was the locker room he was walking away from. _'Was he singing in there?' _Hiccup thought as he returned to the door, pressing his ear to it. He could hear the loud, but muffled male singing, which Hiccup figured it was most likely Jack, coming from within.

"_There you go messin' with my mind_

_I am usually better when I lie_

_There I go stuck inside a shell_

_And you're living on the other side_

_A lover's carousel_"

Hiccup could feel the corners of his mouth being tugged upward. He pulled one of the black pole stands and set it to the side, allowing him access to the locker room. It took everything he had to not laugh at the sight he saw upon entering. There was Jack standing in the center of the locker room, which had soapy water coating the tile floor, wearing a pair of headphones and singing—rather loudly— into the deck brush he was currently using.

"_If you only knew,_" he sang before resting the brush's pole against his chest and preceded to air-drum the beat, which Hiccup unfortunately could not hear. Even though he knew and like the original song that was being sung, he actually liked how Jack was singing it. His voice was incredible—not too deep, but also, not too small or soft. Hiccup felt his cheeks flush and a tightness clench at his chest as the bi-color haired man expelled and melodiously—and quite sexy sounding, "_Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I lose control…_"

It was spellbinding the way Jack moved about the floor, the way his voice echoed off the walls. The way his hips shifted and his hand ran down his chest. Hiccup couldn't help, but feel mesmerized by him.

"_When I hear your body move_

_Through the walls_

_In the next room…_"

It seemed that every time Jack sang out that loud, "_Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh_

_I lose control…_" Hiccup's face grew brighter and his chest seemed tighter. There was just the way he sang it that was so alluring. He knew that he must look like a total idiot, standing there blushing like a schoolgirl with a goofy, crooked smile on his face, but he just couldn't look away. Jack continued to sing and brush at the floor, though he seemed more interested in the music than actually cleaning.

"_When I hear your body move_

_And I'm DYING to break through_

_To the next room…_"

At that moment Jack turned to grab the squeegee that was resting against the sink, he glanced up, catching a glimpse of the mirror and quickly whirling around, clutching at his chest. He had felt himself jump and almost scream like a girl, but managed to keep it as a sharp inhale, "Oh, holy snap, dude," he exclaimed, panting heavily before letting out a soft laugh, pulling the headphones from off of his ears, "you scared the shit outta me!"

Hiccup's face grew slightly brighter, but then again Jack's did too, "I'm so sorry," he said, letting out a small chuckle himself, "I, uh, didn't… know where you were at and, um, figured I'd change out while I waited. But I saw the sign and figured… I would just go sit down… then I heard the singing and I…" he trailed off, habitually rubbing the back of his neck.

Jack's demeanor grew more relaxed as his body calmed down from its shock, "And you just thought you'd sneak in and check out where that amazing singing was coming from," he chuckled, his words dripping with his mirth.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Conceited much," he quipped dryly, earning another hearty laugh from the man, making that tightness in Hiccup's chest return as he was shined that beautifully white smile. Hiccup couldn't help but think how attractive this man was—wait what? Well, attractive for a guy… or whatever. He cleared his throat and averted his eyes to anything that wasn't the bi-color haired man and chuckled wryly.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to come in until at least 2:30, so I thought I'd get my cleaning done, or at least most of it, while I waited. But I'm almost done in here, so I will be out in a bit. If you want, you can go hang out in the lounge and watch some TV and I'll come get you when I'm done and we can get started," he chimed. Hiccup nodded and adjusted his duffel that he had been holding, bringing it closer to his frame and left the locker room, replacing the rope across the door as he walked to the lounge.

He couldn't help the crooked smile that remained on his features despite his efforts to rid himself of it. His freckled cheeks remained hot and his heart was still beating fast, not as rapidly, but more than normal. He didn't understand why he became like this because of the other male. Yes, the man was very attractive and had a fantastic voice, but so what? He didn't know him. He _just_ met the guy last night. So, why was he so entranced by him? Maybe it was the fact that he was so kind natured or he seemed to have a great sense of humor, something Dagur never seemed to have. Dagur's crooked smile was always malicious and came from dark humor. Whenever Dagur smiled it meant something bad was about to happen. It was like this guy was the polar opposite of his ex and he didn't have to know him well to know that there was something about him that he liked.

He sat down on the couch provided, setting his gym bag on the ground beside him, cleared his thoughts of Dagur, and pulled out his phone, swiping through it to find him something to do while he waited.

His mossy green eyes glanced out the large window across from him and took notice of the rain that was harshly beating against the building. He could hear the muffled rumbles of thunder along with the soothing downpour and see the occasional flash of lightning that lit the sky, allowing him to be able to fully grasp the severity of the storm. The brunette sighed. It wasn't like he didn't enjoy the storm, but what he didn't look forward to was to be walking home in it. Yes, a light rain shower was nothing, but it looked like someone had turned on a fire hose on Burgess.

He turned his attention back to the device in his hand and pulled up Candy Crush and started his level, matching up the small candies and breaking them away. He did this for a while and after running out of moves, he closed the app. He opened his weather app and checked the forecast out of curiosity of how long this was supposed to last. When pulled up the radar map, all he saw was a large mass of reds, yellows, and greens as well as a banner going across the screen indicating a slow moving severe thunderstorm and a flood watch.

"Well, that's wonderful," he mumbled to himself as he locked the screen and placed the phone back in the pocket of his jacket and leaned back onto the couch and closed his eyes, taking in the sound of the rain that continued to smack the window. Well it was a good thing he was going to be there for a while. Maybe the storm would subside after a while and his venture home wouldn't be so bad.

Jack exited the locker room and took the cleaning materials—mop, squeegee, deck brush, mop bucket, and cleaning chemicals— back to the back room and placed them in the storage closet. He still couldn't keep get the goofy grin off of his face from the events that took place in the locker room. It wasn't as if he was embarrassed of his singing—in fact he was pretty proud of his voice, it was more of the fact that he was caught dancing around like an idiot and grinding on a deck brush.

Jackson knew it was all in good fun and he had never been the type of person who couldn't laugh at himself along with others. He knew he looked ridiculous, but he didn't care too much over it. He still found it funny, especially the look on the younger man's face.

As he left the back storage area his smile fell as he took notice of the storm that had brewed outside while he was cleaning the locker rooms. Jack didn't mind storms that much. He wasn't fond of going out in them, but he didn't mind watching them. The only time he found himself getting nervous was when the streets were flooding or there was a tornado warning—both understandable reasons. He worked in a gym with a lot of lose equipment and the last thing he wanted was a 50 pound barbell being thrown at him should a tornado blow through there.

He made his way over to the lounge area to see Hiccup lying back with his eyes closed. The smile returned to his features as he gazed down at the auburn haired lad who seemed to be at ease. Jack knew all too well that falling asleep in that place was easy when it was dead like it was so he wasn't one to judge. Besides the techno music that could be heard faintly in the lounge and the TV that hung on the wall in there was off, it was pretty quiet.

Jack approached him, "Hey man, you awake?"

Hiccup's mossy green eyes fluttered open and he craned his neck to the side to see the bi-color haired man looking down at him through his auburn bangs. He hadn't been asleep, but he also didn't hear Jack come into the room, "Yeah, I'm awake. I was listening to the rain," he told him as he shifted on the couch, sitting up, earning a hum of acknowledgement from Jack.

"Well, you can come on out here and we will get started if you want," he said walking out of the lounge, not really giving Hiccup a chance to answer, and back to the front desk. Hiccup came to his feet and grabbed his bag and proceeded to follow Jack back to the main room. Jack came back with a small pack of papers that was stapled together and sat down at a nearby table, Hiccup joined him.

"I just have to fill out a few papers first and then we will get your weight and get started with the actual work-out. Sorry, but it's just something North has us do," he told him, and continued once Hiccup nodded, "Okay, When is your birthday and how old are you?"

"It's October 30th and I am 18," he replied.

"Not too much younger than me. I'm 20. How tall are you?" he asked.

"I'm five foot nine."

"Do you have any health problems? Like asthma, chronic bronchitis, or any heart problems?"

Hiccup leaned forward onto the table, resting his arms on its surface, "No, not to my knowledge. Jack continued with the questionnaire, asking standard questions about this or that. Soon Hiccup started to space out. He was looking at Jack but not really listening to him. That was when he noticed something about him that really peaked his interest. Jack had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. But what was truly amazing about them was one was as blue as the crystallized sea of the northern Atlantic and the other was as brown as the richest soils. For a moment he sat mesmerized at this and questioned himself on how he didn't notice this sooner.

"Hiccup," he heard Jack ask, "are you alright there, bud?"

It was understandable, the look of pure confusion that he received from Jack when the only thing that came out of his mouth was, "Wow… your eyes are beautiful…" –'_oh shit…._' He thought before his eyes immediately cast down at the table and his cheeks heated from realizing what he had just said.

Jack was indeed taken aback by this. Yes, he knew that his eyes were normally the first thing people notice about him upon meeting him, that or his hair. Also, normally it wasn't the guys telling him his eyes were 'beautiful', it was mainly women, but it didn't bother him either way. He smiled, "Well, thank you very much. You took longer than most people to notice them and yes, they are my real eyes and not contacts."

Hiccup looked up slowly through his bangs back at him. He didn't think it was weird for a guy to say that to him? Well he wasn't looking at him like he was disgusted with him. On the contrary, he was smiling at him. Hiccup gave a crooked smile, "Sorry I know that kinda came out of nowhere, but I just happened to notice them. It is not every day you see someone with eyes like that."

Jack shifted around in his seat and played with the pen in his hand, "It's alright. I know it's uncommon to see blue and brown. I think it's more common for green and brown. It was a shock to me too when I first saw them myself," he said, his smile never fading.

Hiccup looked curiously at Jack, "What do you mean by that? Weren't you born like that?"

Jack shook his head, "No I wasn't born with heterochromatic eyes. Both of them were brown when I was born, but when I was ten-years-old I was in an accident and when I woke up in the hospital I had one blue eye," he explained, carding his fingers through his bi-colored hair.

Hiccup winced at the explanation, "Oh… I'm sorry to hear that. At least you are alright."

Jack nodded and after a moment of silence he found himself changing the subject, "Anyways, I'm going to let you go change and we'll get your weight."

Hiccup nodded. He noticed how Jack had quickly changed the subject. He figured that since it was really none of his business that it was be rude to question why. He gathered his things and went to the locker room to change and after changing he met back up with Jack and weighed himself. He wasn't too surprised to find out that he was only about 15 lbs. underweight, according to the chart they was going by. He had always been small. Even though he ate all the time, he still found himself skinny. He figured if it weren't for his high metabolism he would weigh 600 lbs. by now.

After getting weighed Jack gave him a pack of papers that had suggestions for eating habits and ways of putting on weight. Then he was shown how certain machines and other equipment worked, more in depth then what Aster had shown him, and finally, the actual work-out. Jack started out slow, having Hiccup stretch well before, and proceeded to get him into light exercises—sit-ups, push-ups, leg lifts, pull ups, etc.—before moving onto testing his limits. When the brunette moaned and groaned from his muscles starting to burn, Jack seemed to always ask for him to do, whatever it was he was doing, at least 10 more.

It didn't take much to have Hiccup panting and tiring. He hadn't worked out in a while and it showed. He walked to the water fountain and drank like he had never seen water before. Jack watched in amusement before saying, "Well, now that you are warmed up, let's get started!"

Hiccup looked at the man like he was crazy and let out an exasperated groan, "Warmed up? You're kidding, right?"—'_fuck…_'

Jack chuckled, "Come on, I'm going easy. I'm trying to see what you are capable of and see where you need work. Now, I'm going to get you running on the treadmill for about 10 minutes, then we will take a break and after that we will work with free weights."

Hiccup found running on the treadmill to be not nearly as bad as the other things the older male had him doing. He was used to walking everywhere since he didn't have a car, so a brisk jog wasn't too bad. Even if he was obviously out of shape and embarrassed about how it showed, it didn't seem as bad as he thought. Jack didn't seem to judge him and kept offering him words of encouragement. After he run/jogged for 10 minutes and worked with the free weights, ones he could actually lift, Hiccup found himself slumped over with exhaustion on the locker room bench, his body covered with perspiration and his hair matted against his scalp.

"You did great for your first time," he heard from the opposite side of the room where Jack was leaning against the wall.

"Ugh… I am so tired. I know I am going to be sore when I wake up."

"Well, maybe a bit," Jack added, "I'm not going to lie, the third day is always the real bitch. Second day your muscles are still trying to relax, so by the third when they have relaxed, _that_ is when you will be sore."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Thank you for summing that up for me," he deadpanned, earning a chuckle from Jack.

"Well, I'll let you change now," he said before exiting the room.

After changing back into his civilian clothes, Hiccup exited the locker room and saw Jack had retained his post at the front desk. He pulled his duffel over his shoulder as he made his way to the front entrance. He became very disappointed to see that the storm had yet to let up. The winds were still howling through the trees, the rain was still pouring, and the sky was still flashing. He groaned again, feeling the desire to smack his face against the glass of the door.

He glanced over at Jack, "Well, I'll see ya later."

"You're not going to walk in that, are you?" he asked.

"Sadly I cannot fly, so yes, that is the plan," he retorted.

Jack shook his head at the smart ass comment, "Dude, it's really coming down. If you want I can drive you."

Hiccup was taken aback by this. It was a nice gesture, but he didn't really know this guy and vice versa, also he didn't want to get him in trouble for abandoning his post either, especially since he was the only one there. Then again it was storming and storming badly at that, "Uh, wouldn't you get in trouble for that?"

"Nah, I have the keys to the place and I'm sure North will understand. Plus, I couldn't, in all good sense, let you walk out that door right now—it's cold, storming, and you are already pretty tired," he explained as he grabbed his blue hoodie, pulling it over his head, and grabbing his keys before making his way around the counter.

Hiccup couldn't object to that so he followed the bi-color haired man out the door, both of them pulling up their hoods and stopping for a moment as Jack locked the front door behind them and made a mad dash to his car—a light blue 2001 neon.

The drive to Hiccup's apartment started out pretty quiet, save the occasional 'turn here'. So to break the silence the brunette cleared his throat and looked over at Jack, whose eyes remained on the road, "By the way, um, sorry for, you know, barging in on your one man show earlier."

Jack's heterochromatic eyes glanced over to the younger man beside him as a big shit-eating grin spread across his face, "Well, what can I say? I'm a prima donna. You should see me when I'm actually performing."

"Performing?"

"Yeah, I am in a cover band—300 Years of Isolation. I mean we write our own stuff too, but when we perform a lot of the time we do cover songs. Apparently we must be pretty good, they keep asking us to come back," Jack replied with a small chuckle.

Hiccup smiled, "That explains why you sing so well. Where do you normally perform?"

"Thank you and we do a lot of clubs. The gay clubs really like us. They are the ones who usually ask us to perform most often. Plus, afterwards we get to watch the drag shows, which are absolutely _fabulous!_" he said that last part a little too well, but he still received a laugh from the younger male beside him, "Aster, the Australian guy that works at the gym, is actually our drummer."

"Well Mr. Frost you are just full of surprises. It's just up ahead on the right."

"Hiccup, my friend, we have only just scratched the surface," he retorted, maneuvering the car into the small parking lot and shifted into park close to the entrance, "Uh, thank you for the ride. It would have really sucked walking in that."

"Not a problem at all," Jack replied.

Hiccup unbuckled his seat belt and climbed out of the car before leaning back down, "I'll see ya later. Thanks again." He shut the door and took off toward his apartment.

* * *

**Song is In the Next Room by Neon Trees. I always saw Jack as a showman. He is light on his feet and loves to have fun (obviously XD). He seems like the type of person who would sing and dance in front of his mirror. By the way, if you have never heard Chris Pine sing you are missing out. **

**I am trying to make Hiccup a but more external. He is such an internal character, even if he can be a sarcastic butthead at times, he is more of a think-before-acting character.**

**In the next chapter I plan on introducing a few more characters, Astrid is one and maybe North. **

**Thank you for reading! **

**Reviews are not required, but are still nice ;) **

**Until next time  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everybody! I'm so happy I was able to finally finish this chapter, sorry it took so long. I was having some personal problems. Anyways, I am amazed it is as long as it is. I was totally not expecting to be over 11,400 words! I think that this is the most I have ever written for ONE chapter. **

**Also, I want to thank those of you who reviewed! X3**

**You guys are awesome.**

* * *

**Too Far Gone**

**Chapter 3**

It had been two weeks since Hiccup's training with Jack had begun and needless to say, he was exhausted, utterly exhausted—between work-outs, therapy, classes, and homework, he was starting to feel the load that he carried. His muscles were sore, not as sore as a few days prier but nonetheless sore, since he was going to the gym four times a week. Even though Jack had told him that he didn't need to rush and strain himself because he could end up hurting himself in the long run, be still found himself walking to the gym and continuing the work-out despite the bi-color haired man's concern. He was thankful that Jack had begun to offer him a ride home every night afterwards or he would have probably collapsed on the sidewalk somewhere. Also, with the time he had been spending with the man, be grew to enjoy his company.

Jack had the makings of a good friend. He was easy to talk to and always knew how to bring Hiccup out of a funk. He was always laughing and telling funny stories about this or that—mostly about crazy things that he had had the privilege of witnessing in the gym, but Hiccup would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed that he still didn't know too much about him. But then again, he had not really shared too much about himself either, mainly idle conversation.

Glancing over at the clock, Hiccup saw that it was close to noon. He sighed, wondering why he ever thought it was a good idea to wake up around 10 a.m. on his off day. He lied there in the living room on his plush couch with Toothless asleep on his abdomen still in his pajamas from the night before, a pair of dark gray shorts and a mossy green shirt. The apartment was silent save for the ticking of the clock and the sound of Astrid talking away in his ear.

"Hiccup," she asked with a bit of annoyance, catching his attention, "did you fall asleep?"

The cinnamon haired man groaned into the phone that was pinned between his shoulder and ear, "No, I'm awake. I was miles away for a moment."

"Hiccup, why did you even call me if you weren't even fully awake? You know that I find that annoying when people do that to me."

He ran his hand down the length of Toothless's purring body and shifted on the couch some to make himself more comfortable. The black cat that rested on him lifted his head and meowed at him for disturbing his sleep before climbing down and prancing off somewhere. Hiccup scoffed at the animal and brought his attention back to the phone and switched ears, "I'm sorry. I had just realized that I hadn't talked to you in a few days… so…" he trailed off.

Astrid sighed and put Hiccup on speakerphone. She had been leaning back in her bed wearing nothing but her blue lace push-up bra and matching panties. Hiccup had caught her as she entered her room fresh out of the shower and she didn't see a problem with answering the phone while she dressed, but she soon found herself in an almost one-sided conversation while her friend on the opposite end was in dreamland. She rolled her eyes and sat up in her bed and took the towel that wrapped her freshly showered blonde hair up off and tossed it casually to the side. She figured she might as well start getting ready for work while she talked to her friend, "So, how is class? Did you ever figure out your major or are you still bullshitting around?"

"Bullshitting?" he asked offensively, sitting up, "I wasn't bullshitting and yes, I think I do have it figured out."

Astrid snickered. Hiccup was always so serious, "Well, O' Great Sourpuss, what are you majoring in?"

Hiccup deflated back down onto the plush grey cushions under him, "I am going to major in engineering, but that is pretty much because I know I will find work and probably have a minor in creative writing. I thought about having a minor in art, but I think creative writing is more down my alley. Who knows, maybe one day I'll write something I feel like I could probably get published."

The girl on the other end of the receiver hummed in acknowledgement and began towel-drying her long blonde hair and finally tossing the towel into the hamper, "At least you have that much figured out. I am still having trouble with what I want to do when I start college. I don't know if I want to get into animal care or be a physical therapist," she stated as she pulled her work uniform shirt out of her top dresser drawer and pulled it over her head.

Hiccup could hear the sounds of things being shuffled around as Astrid slipped into her black work slacks and his brow crinkled in curiosity, "And you sit there and talk about me not knowing what I wanna do with my life," he retorted, "and what the hell are you doing? Sounds like Stormfly knocked over a bookshelf!"

Astrid chuckled as she looked over at her purebred collie, Stormfly, who laid silently on the hardwood floor, obviously used to the noises her owner made, "No, that's me, I am getting ready for work. I had just gotten out of the shower when you called and I was tired of sitting here in my bra and underwear."

"Well, it's good to know you changed them today?"

The blonde scoffed, "Hey! I change them every day!" she said with a fake offensive tone.

Hiccup shook his head, "Anyways, so, how have things been in Berk?"

"Well, it hasn't been too bad lately. According to Snotlout, Dagur hasn't been asking about you as much and when I saw him last he didn't really bother me, so, yeah…"

Sven "Snotlout" Jorgenson, Hiccup's cousin, was friends with Dagur. He never understood why his cousin would ever want to be around his ex, let alone _look up to him_. Then again, Hiccup was able to count his blessings that Snotlout was completely unaware of the abuse he suffered while with his crazy ex. But it had almost made him sick to his stomach to know that Dagur and his cousin were friends now. He didn't want anybody knowing the details of his and Dagur's relationship or that there was ever a relationship in the first place.

"Well, that's good. Maybe he will forget about me and move on. I mean, he couldn't have possibly expected _Brother Hiccup_ to remain latched to his side forever, right," he asked, rhetorically with a pinch of sarcasm, "I mean I would be lying if I said that I didn't miss him sometimes, even though I have no reason to, but I know that it would have been the biggest mistake of my life to stay…"

Astrid stood silent for a moment before pacing across the floor, her bare feet smacking on the wooden panels, back to her neatly made bed, where her phone lied, and retrieved the device and took him off speakerphone, bringing the device to her ear. She hated hearing her best friend speak about Dagur in that tone. She knew the type of things Dagur had done to him and made him do and for Hiccup to show any fathom of remorse for him was unacceptable. She didn't want to snap at him for being honest, but she also didn't want him having guilt for leaving the deranged male behind. Hiccup seemed happier since he moved from Berk, almost like he had started to be his old self again, a part of him she silently missed dearly.

All she could do was sit back and try to help him through it as much as possible—be a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, or to just _be_ there. She sighed and sat back down on the bed and pressed her back to the backboard, bringing her knees to her chest, "At least you have accepted this. Being with him would only make your life worse. You would have remained unhappy… or worse."

Stormfly came to her feet and shook her fur before gracefully walking over to her owner and climbed onto the bed. The dog could tell by the sound of Astrid's voice that she wasn't happy and that was something she didn't like. Humans could be miserable creatures at times and Stormfly felt it to be her noble duty to have as little of that at all costs. The blonde stroked her companion's soft, fluffy fur as she lay at her side, giving a weak smile.

From the other end Hiccup, too, was silent. He hated feeling things, especially when it involved Dagur. The man had pretty much singlehandedly ruined his existence. At times the auburn haired lad felt absolutely ridiculous for giving these thoughts and feelings the time of day, but if he didn't acknowledge them they would continue to niggle his thoughts. Hiccup sat up once more and exhaled heavily, "Yeah, I do know this. I was so tired of being afraid as well. I won't lie, when I first came here for school I was looking over my shoulder a lot. I was constantly thinking that no matter where I was, he would find me. He was going to be around every corner, he was going to walk out of the next stall in the restroom, and he was going to see me through the window while I was in class. I hated that feeling, Astrid. I was also scared that I would have to live with that fear for the rest of my life. That was the whole reason I started therapy… well not the sole reason, but one of the main ones."

Astrid hated when Hiccup was like this. She knew that he was still adjusting and wanted to help him and did. She did not hesitate when he asked her to help him move. Even though she would have a great distance between them, it was better to have him away in Burgess than there in Berk within Dagur's reach. At least with the six hour distance between them it was less likely of an unwanted run in and the unnecessary drama that would be plausible. Hiccup spoke once more, but his voice had grown softer, "Astrid, I believe the Gods must hate me."

"Don't say that," she countered, "You know that is not true."

"Oh?" he asked in a snide tone, "Well, if you don't believe so let me reassess—I have lost my mother, my father doesn't want to have anything to do with me because of my appearance, I was in an abusive relationship with a psychopath which put me through unspeakable horrors, and I had to move six hours away from my best friend. I would say that I am not in their favor, Astrid."

The blonde girl brought her feet to the floor once more and began pacing around the room as Hiccup proceeded to rant. She rolled her blue eyes and sighed, "Hiccup, I know all of these things, but if you recall, you have become a better person because of these things and you are also trying to better yourself. You have a real shot at a future. You are in therapy. You are attending a gym and working with a personal trainer and you are meeting new people. Yes, you were dealt shitty cards at first, but you still haven't let that change who you really are. You shouldn't be too hard on yourself. You are not a failure or a lost cause, Hiccup."

"What new people have I met? I haven't really met anyone besides Jack," he retorted.

"Exactly. By the way, how have things been going with the training?" she asked, changing the subject.

The mentioning of Jack made his chest become tighter. There was something about the bi-color haired guy that was alluring. He didn't know the man too well, but he couldn't say that he didn't want to learn more about him either. A small smirk was traced on his lips as he came to his feet. Hiccup walked into the kitchen where he had begun to hear Toothless shuffling around, trying to tell his lazy owner to feed him and Hiccup knew it would only be a matter of time until Toothless started to wreck the place, a bad habit the feline possessed, "Pain… love it," he quipped as he began as he poured the black cat's favorite food into his silver dish that sat in the corner, Toothless weaving in and out of his legs and meowing loudly until the full dish was placed back on the ground, "Well, it is going alright. I am incredibly tired. Last week my body was so sore I thought I was going to keel over at any second."

Astrid again put the device on speakerphone and started brushing her slightly damp golden hair, "Sounds like he is really working you hard," she chimed adding a small laugh.

"It's mainly from the fact that I have not worked out in so long. It's not like I ever had a problem with being over-weight and the only exercise I ever do is walk," he replied as he made his way back to the couch and flopped back down with a small 'oof'.

"Well, a body at rest stays at rest. You are just now waking it up for the first time in forever. I wonder what you are gonna look like all buff… I think I will miss the little fishbone Hiccup," she said, words dripping with her mirth.

"Oh har har. Astrid has jokes. Yes, I can see the before and after pictures now," he replied dully.

"Oh lighten up, I am just playing with you. So, tell me about this trainer of your's. Is he cute?"

Hiccup felt his cheeks heat up. Yes, Jack was handsome, very handsome. Why did he feel so awkward when it came to questions like that? It was almost as if he was ashamed to admit he thought another human being was good-looking, most likely because of his poor self-confidence and the thought that no one would ever say such things about him. After a moment he realized he hadn't said anything and tried to speak, only to have himself stammer like an idiot, "Uh, why, uu-uh… why are you asking me that?" he asked. He could almost see her smirk through the phone.

"Oh, for fuck's sake Hiccup. It was just a question. It's not like I am asking you what his junk looks like," she said as she began to skillfully French braid her thick blonde hair. Astrid had done this so many times over the years she hardly had to watch what she was doing anymore.

Hiccup sighed, "Ugh, fine. He is pretty good looking. Really good looking in fact."

"See, was that so hard? You know for a gay guy you act like you are scared to say a guy is cute," she said, tying her hair and gave it one last look over.

"I never said I was gay. I could be bisexual. I don't know. I have never been with a woman."

Astrid shook her head, "Wanna have sex sometime and find out?" This made Hiccup choke over his own words. He didn't really know what to say to that. Granted, he and Astrid had been friends for years and he trusted her with his life and at one point he could say that he did have an infatuation with the girl with the pigtails he used to play with and even now, he still loved her dearly. Hiccup and Astrid had that type of friendship that it was perfectly fine to lay on top of each other or cuddle while watching a movie and there wouldn't be any romantic tension between them.

Hiccup loved Astrid so much that he couldn't ever picture his life without her again. The day she moved from Berk was the one of the saddest days of the auburn haired lad's life—save for the day his mother died. Her parents were going through a nasty divorce and she was forced to move away with her father, which may explain why she was a bit of a tomboy. It had been almost ten years until she came back to Berk and it was as if their friendship picked right back up from where it had left off.

Hiccup thought for a moment more of the proposal, "I am tempted. Tell you what, next time we see each other, we'll see what happens," he said with a satisfying smirk.

"Alright and if we aren't married by the time we are thirty, I think we need to marry each other," she said, "I am completely serious too."

Hiccup let out a hearty laugh, "Marriage? Now why would you want to marry an awkward, nasally voiced, freckled fishbone like myself?"

Astrid smiled into the phone, "Because, Mr. Hamish Horrendous Haddock III, you are one of the sweetest guys I have ever met, even though at times you can be awkward. You have stuck up for me and have been there for me because you are a very caring person. I trust you more than anybody else in this world and I want you to know that. I love you a lot and I don't care if you are gay or not. Our marriage doesn't have to have sex in it, you being there is enough, and sex would just be an added bonus."

Hiccup felt his cheeks heat up more. He felt the same way as Astrid did. He had just never heard her say it. His friendship with her was pure and it was something that a lot of people would never have the privilege of experiencing. He did love Astrid and if he could ever see himself with a woman it would be with her. Even though the love he felt for her wasn't in a romantic way, it was still just as genuine, "Thank you, Astrid. I think that that is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me," he replied, giving a crooked grin into the phone.

"You're welcome and I meant every word. Plus, I happen to like your freckles and nasally voice," she chirped, "I think it's even better when you sing," she giggled.

The cinnamon haired man rolled his eyes, "Ugh, if you say so."

"Now, what are you going to do about Jack," she asked.

Hiccup cocked a brown eyebrow, "Uh, what do you mean 'do about Jack'?"

Astrid exhaled in frustration, "Hiccup, what do you think I mean? Are you going to pursue him or not?"

Hiccup ran his fingers through his hair, "I don't know. I mean, it's not that simple. For one, I don't know him that well and two, I don't even know if he swings that way, and three, I don't want to make things awkward between us."

"Hiccup," the blonde said firmly, "You will never get anywhere if you don't try. I'm not telling you to run up to the guy and ask him on a date. All I am asking is if you think he would be someone you would like to have in your life, relationship or not."

He let out a sigh, "I don't know. Like I said, I don't know him too well. All I know is that he has an amazing singing voice, he has two different colored eyes, one blue and one brown, and he seems really nice and patient too."

"Well, maybe you should ask him to hang out sometime that isn't in the gym. Why don't you ask him on a man-date? Ya know, go the movies or come over and play video games, or whatever guys find interesting," she said, slipping on her work shoes.

"Man-date?"

"Yeah, a man-date. Also, get a picture of him. I want to see what he looks like," she said.

Their conversation was interrupted when Astrid heard the loud beeping of a car horn coming from her driveway. She walked over to her bedroom window and peered out of the blinds to see Raquelle "Ruffnut" Thorston's purple 2003 Niisan Altima in her driveway. Since Astrid lived down the street from the twins, Ruffnut and her brother Taren (Tuffnut), she often car pulled with the female twin since they worked together at the same department store.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup, but Ruff is here. I'll talk to ya later," she said, sounding a bit disappointed.

"It's all good. I think I may go back to sleep," he replied, "Talk to ya later."

"Don't forget to get a picture!" she exclaimed and hung up.

* * *

That next morning, Jack found himself perched at his usual spot on the roof of the gym. He sat with his legs and bare feet hanging over the side of the building as he watched the city come alive. Jack reached into the pocket of his blue hoodie and pulled out a cigarette and lighter. He placed the white filtered stick between his lips and lit the end then placed the lighter back into his pocket before grabbing the filter and exhaled the smoke as he pulled it away from his mouth. Jack wasn't what you would call a normal smoker. The only time he did was when he was stressed out, really bored, or in a social setting. He could go weeks at a time without craving one and a pack would last for a long time.

He normally tried to not smoke, when he did, around Aster or North. He would get the standard lecture about how they were bad for you and caused cancer. Even though he knew this, at least he could say that it was really his only bad habit. He didn't drink, but on incredibly rare occasions, he didn't do recreational drugs, he didn't go out and have a bunch of unprotected sex, or get mixed up with the wrong crowd and had a life of crime.

But it did make him feel good that he had people watching over him and that they did care enough about him to say something. Jackson saw his boss, Nicholas St. North, as his adopted father and Aster as the brother he never had. He was close to both of them and would do anything he could for them, no questions asked. Since Jack had lost his parents at the age of 10 due to a car accident, North became the father figure that he had needed. He met the man while living in the Burgess Home for Boys when he was fourteen.

Jack remembered the day as if it had just happened. He recalls being in the library of the orphanage barefoot and laying on the hardwood floor. He heard the previous day from the head of the orphanage that Santa was coming to visit the children. He knew that "Santa" had arrived from the uncontrollable screaming that filled the building. He lay by his lonesome in the library, not really filling the Spirit of Christmas. Jack was still a brunette then and much older than the other children that dwelled in his so-called "home", in fact he was the oldest one there.

He remembered how lonely he felt knowing that nobody wanted to adopt him. Nobody wanted to raise a teenager. Parents wanted a young child that they could mold into what they believe is the perfect child, not a teenager that they would only have for a few years and would probably disappoint them. His heterochromatic eyes stared at the ceiling, filling with tears before gradually spilling over and running down the side of his face and into his brown hair.

He wanted to be happy with his sister and a new family. He wanted to live a normal life, be angry that his new parents wouldn't let him out to see his friends, but he knew that would never happen. His sister was gone. He was alone, but he was no longer scared, just sad.

Christmas wasn't always a sad time for him. No, he used to dream of Christmas morning when his parents were still alive. Waking up a dawn, just as the sun slowly began to peek over the horizon. Running down the stairs to the large living room where the tree had remain brightly lit all night, but the once empty spaces now filled with wrapped boxes and the stockings were filled with candy as if by magic. Now it lay as a painful reminder of the family he would never see again or hope to have. The sounds of cheering, laughing and shuffling of what Jack assumed to be Christmas presents being torn open could still be heard from downstairs. He wished he still held the childish wonder and hope, but it faded away from him as most things seemed to have done.

After a while, the noise had moved outside where the children had more open space to play. The sound of heavy footfalls began to make their way gingerly up the stairs. Whoever it was had made their way into the library where Jack had remained on the floor, not bothering to look at the newest addition to the room.

"Merry Christmas!" boomed a loud, unfamiliar voice. Jack slowly turned his head to see who the voice belonged to, even though he had pretty much figured it out the second he heard it, he supposed he may have been curious of what this year's model of Santa looked like. The large man that stood across the room was dressed as Santa, but unlike any Santa he had ever seen in a mall, TV, or Christmas paraphernalia. This man wore a large red coat with black slacks and a Russian style black hat. He sported a large brown and red bag that Jack figured once held the presents, but now was nearly empty, over his shoulder.

The man did however have the stereotypical long, white beard that Santa was so well known for having. He approached Jack with a bit of caution as he sat the bag down on a nearby table, "I noticed that you were not with the others," he spoke, this time softer, in a thick Russian accent, "I figured I would bring you your gift personally."

Jack only stared at the man for a moment before sitting up and coming to his feet. He shook his head and sighed, watching as the man retrieved a decent sized package from the bag that was neatly wrapped in blue shimmering paper with prints of snowflakes, and proceeded to hand it to the young boy, "Look, uh, Santa, no offense, but I think I am a little too old for this, don't you think? I mean, it's nice of you to do this for the kids, but I am not much into the whole Christmas thing. So, thanks… but no thanks." With that said, Jackson made his way towards the library exit, but was stopped when a large hand landed on his shoulder.

"You are never too old for joy, son," he stated in his low baritone voice.

Jack shook the man's hand away and glanced over his shoulder, "Maybe not, but I lost my reason for joy and happiness a long time ago." Then he left the room, leaving the man standing there.

Later that night, when he returned from dinner, the package that "Santa" tried giving him earlier was sitting on his bed. Obviously at this point there was no way of returning the present to the man who placed it there. He let out an exasperated sigh and sat down on his bed and proceeded to tear the paper from the box away, throwing it haphazardly onto the floor to reveal a plain brown box. When he opened it inside there were all sorts of things within—a new iPod, an assortment of candy, and a few other miscellaneous things. He couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face. Jack had never had anybody do something so nice for no reason.

A few weeks later, as Jack walked the grounds of the Boy's Home wrapped in an old brown poncho, the snow crunching under his worn sneakers, he was approached by the man that was once dressed as Santa. He was wearing the same large red coat and fluffy black Russian style hat. Jack saw him coming as he sat down on the swing that hung from a large tree branch, "Good to see you again," he greeted, his accent coating his words.

Jack merely nodded. The man sat down in a wooden chair that was close by, the young brunet was almost positive that the chair would collapse under the man's weight, but was surprised when it didn't.

"Did you like your gifts," he asked with a bright smile that was somewhat hidden under his beard.

"You know, you didn't have to do that," he said flatly.

The man laughed boisterously, "I know this. I do it because I wanted to."

Jack hummed in acknowledgement, "Why are you here? Isn't it a little late for a visit from Santa?"

The white haired man nodded, "Well, my friend, under circumstances you can call me North."

The brunet chuckled wryly, "Seriously, as in the North Pole?"

The man let out another booming laugh, "No, as in Nicholas St. North," he replied.

The brunet eyed the man over his curious name, his eyebrow cocked slightly before he let out another small, weak laugh, "Jackson. Jackson Overland-Frost," he stated, earning a white smile from the large man.

"Jack Frost? Ah, my favorite winter spirit. The bringer of joy and fun to the children."

Jack scoffed and rolled his eyes, "More like the bringer of messes where ever he goes. So why are you here, _North_?"

North shifted in the chair, "I didn't come here to ask if you like presents. I come here because when I see you, I see myself. We are not as different as you may think."

The young lad crossed his arms, "Really," he asked sarcastically, "and why is that?"

"Because," North stated firmly, "I know what it is like to lose my family too. To feel the stabbings of life's cruel knife. To feel as if the universe is playing some sick joke and you are the brunt of it. I know these things too, Jack Frost. You are not alone."

Jack came to his feet and started pacing around, North following him with his icy blue eyes. The weight of the man's words had definitely caught his attention. He wasn't exactly sure how to digest the words or know where to take this information or understand why the man shared this with him to begin with. However he did have one question, "So, how did you know about my family," he asked meekly.

The smile he once sported returned to his bearded face, "I am Santa Claus, no? I see you when you sleep and I know when you are awake. I also know if you have been bad or good," he replied, earning an honest and hearty laugh from the young man. That was the last thing Jack was expecting North to say. The boy shook his head and turned away from the man for a moment, composing himself before coming back to the swing where he once perched.

He wiped a tear that had formed in his eye away. He leaned against the rope on the swing he was on, "So, am I on the naughty list," he asked with a smirk, deciding to play along.

North leaned back in his seat, "_On_ naughty list? You hold the record," he replied gesturing to the young lad, "but now we are wiping clean slate." It was at this time that the robust man pulled up the sleeves on his coat, revealing a large black inked tattoo that said 'NAUGHTY' along with some intricate designs surrounding it on his right arm and 'NICE' on his left with the same intricate designs, and proceeded to brush his right arm for effect.

Jack's eyes widened at the tattoo. That was one of the last things he expected to see. He smiled and looked back up at North, "How come?"

North pulled his sleeves down and came to his feet. His expression changed to one of caring and understanding which also held wisdom, "Because even Jack Frost, the lonely and mischievous Spirit of winter, the bringer of joy to the children of the world, even he deserves to see happiness too."

Jack carded his fingers through his brown locks and averted his gaze for a moment, "So, what happens from here?"

North smiled, "I do not know just yet, but for now I am taking you to get some new clothes."

"New clothes," he asked, "what's wrong with my clothes I have?"

North shook his head and chuckled, "Nothing is wrong with them, but it is never a bad thing to get more, no?"

It was true. Ever since Jackson had come to the Home he had pretty much been living off of hand-me-downs. It wasn't like it was a bad thing, he found himself lucky to have _anything_ to call his own. He hadn't own anything new since his parents were alive. He shrugged and figured what harm could it do. The man seemed nice and was offering to buy him new clothes. Obviously he had been talking to the head of the Home to know as much about him as he did and since the head of the Home had been standing at the window watching them for the majority of the conversation, he knew that North was there and hadn't stopped him yet. So, he must have approved the visit.

He learned a lot about North that day. He learned that for years, while in Russia, the man worked a regular 9 to 5 job and had a wife named Natasha and a daughter, Lana. He told Jack wonderful memories he had with them and spoke of how much he loved them both. He had told Jack that when his daughter was still young his wife was to have a small procedure, but something had gone wrong and she never woke up. He told Jack that it was only a few short years later that his daughter had become really sick. She was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of eleven. He told Jack how she eventually lost the battle after four years.

Jack really felt sorry for North. The man has lost his wife and daughter. He wasn't given a break like Jack was. All Jack knew what that he was in the car with his parents and the next he was in the hospital. He didn't see his parents die. There was nothing he could do to save them. They were already gone before he knew it. North on the other hand watched for four years as his daughter slowly died, trying to save her. Trying to find cures, treatments, anything to help her, but in the end it was all for naught. She was close to Jack's age when she died close to Christmas, one night when in the hospital while her father read to her "Noch' Pered rozhdestvom" or "The Night Before Christmas".

Jack found himself spilling tears for the man. His story was indeed a sad one; he told the brunet how it took him almost seven years before he was able to move forward with his life. How he didn't want to remain living in a rut, but make something with his life. He told Jack how he knew his family wouldn't have wanted him to live the way he was, they would have wanted him to thrive. He told Jack how a family friend of his, Manford "Manny" Moon, helped him buy a toy factory in Moscow and over the next 20 years, not only did his business become a success, he was able to buy Manny out, but was able buy three more factories as well, one in Berlin, one not too far from Burgess, and one in San Diego. He was even in the process of fixing up a gym.

North had always wanted a family. He knew that the one he had could never be replaced, but he still longed for a child. He had money, yes, but he never let that change who he was. He figured the money he had made as nothing if he couldn't share it with anybody. It took several months for him to build the courage to ask Jack how he would feel being adopted and becoming his son. Jackson couldn't have been happier. All he ever wanted was a family and even though North wasn't perfect, he had grown closer to him over the time he spent with him, "Nothing would make me happier," he told him while flashing his beautiful pearly white teeth.

Sadly, Jack wasn't able to catch a break. For a long time, North tried to adopt him. He hired some of the best lawyers money could buy, but still he was unable to. That was actually how he met Aster. Aster was fresh out of law school, only lacking his bar exam, and was working for North's lawyer. Aster spent a lot of time with North and Jack, trying to help out with building their case.

But because of North's hectic work schedule, him being single, and his traveling, the courts found that Jackson wouldn't be in a suitable environment. They said that North's absence due to working would mean Jack would be spending a lot of time either traveling with North or missing a lot of school or left alone. But North did not let that stop him. Until the age of 18, North continued to visit Jack as much as he could. He bought him anything he needed or wanted— clothes, a new laptop, shoes.

And when Jack finally aged out of the system and was forced to leave the Home, North gave him a place to stay and offered him a job at the gym he had acquired. He even offered to pay for him to go to college, but Jack declined and told him maybe once he figured out what he wanted to do he would reconsider. Jack was very surprised that on his first day of work he found Aster there, perched behind the counter. When he asked the Australian man why he was there and not in his own law office, Aster explained to him that even after going through college and law school, it wasn't until he actually got out into the "field" that he realized he was way over his head. He thought he could handle the weight of being a lawyer, but it was just something he could no longer see himself doing. Aster told Jack that North had also offered him a comfortable position in the gym and he had told the Aussie if he ever needed anything not to be afraid to ask.

That was over two years ago. Even now, despite all that had happened, he wouldn't change a thing should the opportunity arise. Jack saw North as his new father and nothing could change that. Ever since the man came into his life, his attitude about the world had changed. Before he met him, Jack was always sad, grumpy, and would play repugnant pranks on the other children in the Home. After meeting him, he seemed to have changed, in his opinion, for the better. North and Aster and even living in the Burgess Home for Boys taught him a lot about life, things you can't learn from books.

These men have helped him through some of the hardest times of his life and the way he saw it there was never enough he could do to thank them. Even though he no longer lived with North he was happy he got to see him almost every day.

"There he is! Jack Frost!"

Jack was snapped from his thoughts and looked below to the parking lot to see North standing there looking up at him. He put out his cigarette and smiled down at the robust man, "Hey there, North."

"Jack, why are you always on roof," boomed North, his accent lacing his words.

"I'm just waiting for the time to pass," he shouted down to the white haired man, earning an avid chuckle.

"Come down, I have to discuss things with you."

Jack nodded and scooted backwards until his legs were back on the roof and he came to his feet. He grabbed his shoes and slipped them on before heading to the ladder and climbing down and entering the back door that he had left propped open. Inside he found North in the front at the counter. The robust man smiled at him as he approached the front desk, "What's up, North?"

North plopped down in the computer chair, "You have been on roof these past couple of mornings, is everything alright?"

Jack rubbed at the back of his neck out of habit and shrugged, "Yeah. Well as far as I know."

"Do not patronize me, I know you better than that," he affirmed solemnly, "you stay on roof when things are on your mind."

"It's nothing really, North. I suppose I am stressing over the gig we have coming up," he conjectured. It was a lie, well, not a complete lie, but it also wasn't the full truth. Jack did have other things on his mind. He wasn't sure why, but he kept finding himself thinking about a certain auburn haired person. He wasn't sure if it was from the excitement from having someone to hang around him on those late boring nights or if it was just him in general. But needless to say, Hiccup had indeed been infiltrating his thoughts as of late.

Jack would be lying if he said that he didn't notice the way the light shined on his brown hair revealing the most brilliant red highlights he had ever seen. The way his dark viridian eyes reflected his hardships, but still held a sense of endearment or when he gets embarrassed, the way that light dusting of pink spreads over his freckled cheeks. He loved how Hiccup always seemed to have sarcasm rolling off his tongue about this or that. So, yeah, he couldn't help but notice these things.

"Will there be anything you need?"

Jack smiled and shook his head and stuck his hands into his hoodie pockets, "No I think we are pretty good for the moment."

North cocked a black eyebrow, "Oh? Well, I will ask Aster. I know he will think of something."

Jack threw up his hands in surrender. He knew that arguing with North was something he could hardly ever win at, especially when it came to turn North down when he offered to help his band out with a gig. He never understood why the man did it, but whenever his band had a gig he always asked this and insisted on buying some miscellaneous things—new drum sticks, replacement guitar strings, or whatever things Aster could think up. It's not like he was against him helping them out, but he felt bad when North bought them things they didn't really need. He brought these concerns up with Aster and the Australian man would say to him was, "_Well if he is willing to help us out then let him. He is doing this to be nice because he loves you like a son. He wants to help and it makes him feel like he is, _and he is_, plus it's not causing any harm_."

"Alright North. I'm sure he'll think of something."

"Well, give me time, address, and date and I will be there. But for now, you are free to go. I see that you have done everything you can around here. Oh, that reminds me! How is new person you are training going?" he asked.

Jack smiled, "I'll have to ask Aster when it is and leave it in your office. As for the guy I'm training, it's going okay. I think I am wearing him out though," he replied with a light laugh, "I have been taking him home afterwards because I'm afraid he'll pass out if he has to walk that far after I'm done with him."

North laughed, "Well, we do not need that. Anyways, shoo. Go on home. You need rest before rehearsal. I have Dingle come in this afternoon so you can practice." 

* * *

Later that night as Hiccup made his way up to the gym, carting his gym bag close to his side, he already felt a bit tired, but he knew that he had to keep up with this regiment if he was ever going to progress in anyway. The past two weeks were indeed strenuous, but he found it easier if he just ignored it and kept moving forward. As he made his way across the walkway he felt nervousness creep through his body. Even though he didn't technically agree to send Astrid a picture of his bi-color haired trainer, he also did want her to see him. The only problem is actually snapping the photo.

Should he out right ask him? No, he might think he was some weirdo. But if he asked him he would then have to explain that he had been talking about him to Astrid. Then what if he would want to know why and he would have to explain that it's because he said he was good-looking and Astrid wanted to know _how_ good-looking and to send her a picture. Then things would be awkward. Hiccup figured that he could lie, but immediately dismissed that idea. He was a terrible liar, like absolutely horrible at it. You would have to be completely dense or very gullible to believe one of Hiccup's lies. Ever-so-often he could make a lie sound believable, but he tried not to risk it because most of the time he was caught.

Letting out another sigh, he entered the building to see Jack and some girl talking. Jack leaned against the counter, his heterchromatic eyes on the young woman before him. She was very pretty. Her long black hair draped over her shoulder in a loose braid and her bewitching emerald eyes were fixed on his trainer. In Hiccup's opinion she looked a lot like Astrid. She was obviously there to work out since she wore gym clothes—a tan tank top and really short black shorts.

The two hadn't noticed he had entered the building. He actually felt kind of awkward standing there, but for some reason was hesitant to interrupt them. It was obvious that the woman was flirting with Jack, she kept laughing at whatever he was saying and touching him as if it weren't a big deal and Jack didn't seem to care that much. Maybe he knew her? Hiccup sighed once more and figured he would just go ahead and change out and wait for his trainer to finish with… whatever he was doing.

As he approached the two, trying to ease by unnoticed, their eyes locked onto him, "Hey Hiccup," he heard the bi-color haired man chime. Hiccup looked over at him and gave a nervous smile and small wave. The girl standing beside Jack looked at Hiccup as if he was so rude for interrupting their conversation before turning back to the trainer. Jack looked at her before turning his attention back to the auburn haired lad that stood by awkwardly chewing on his lip, "This is Heather. Heather, this is Hiccup. I've been training him for the past couple of weeks."

"Hiccup?" she asked, "Not a name you hear every day."

Hiccup shrugged, "'Heather'. A name you _do_ hear every day," he stated with a bit of venom, gesturing to her. '_Where did that come from_?'

She scoffed and turned back to Jack, "Well, I suppose I gotta be going."

Heather peered over at Hiccup before bring her attention back to Jack. She pulled him into a tight embrace which, much to Hiccup's surprise, Jack returned. She stood on her the tip of her toes to match his height and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "I'll see you later."

Hiccup could feel the tightness that was already filling his chest become tighter. Why? It wasn't a big deal. Why did he care? Why was he angry? Very angry. Hiccup turned on his heels and marched off toward the locker room. He felt his face becoming red with frustration. '_Of course he has a girlfriend! Why wouldn't he?'_

"Call me later," he heard Jack tell the girl before disappearing into the locker room.

After dressing out Hiccup went out to meet up with Jack who was waiting for him over at the stretching area. After stretching and warming up, they quickly went to work. Jack didn't mention Heather any, which Hiccup was thankful for. He was already frustrated and hardly listened to anything Jack was saying anyways. In fact Hiccup was taking this time to let out said frustration, He grabbed a hold of the pull up bar and proceeded to pull himself up over and over. Yes, he was still struggling to do so, but that wasn't stopping him. He kept going and going even when Jack asked him to stop. He said something along the lines 'if you don't relax you will end up hurting yourself'.

Hiccup, after pulling up once more, dropped to his feet and looked over at Jack. His dark eyebrows were knitted together, his hair was matting down on his scalp, and his jaw was clinched. Ignoring Jack once more he walks to the opposite side of the room and picked up a barbell and began using it. Jack walked over to him, cautiously, he had never seen Hiccup like this before and it was kind of worrying him. It was obvious that something has him upset, but he didn't think the younger man would tell him if he was to ask, but he figured it was worth a shot.

"Hiccup," he said, getting the boy's attention, "are you alright? You seem a bit distracted."

Hiccup's eyes returned to the barbell and he grunted and he lifted it once more. '_No, everything is okay. I just had my secret hopes crushed because I was stupid enough to hope for anything_.' he thought—"I'm just peachy. Nothing to worry about here."

Jack cocked a dark eyebrow and nodded, "You sure? You've seemed kinda… out of it since you first came in tonight. Do you want to talk about whatever is bothering you?" Jack's voice was filled with genuine concern. He didn't like seeing anybody that way, let alone someone he was trying to help.

Hiccup wished he felt the same way, but at the moment he didn't and for some reason it pissed him off more that Jack had asked him if he wanted to talk about it. Hiccup looked over at him with a blank expression that soon turned into an angry one. He dropped the barbell he had in his hand, it crashed to the ground with a loud 'BANG', Jack slowly backed up to give him some space. Hiccup looked at him, "No, I _do not_ want to talk about it," he said, seething, stepping over the barbell, "I'm going to take a break." And with that he stormed away from Jack and back to the locker room.

When the door to the locker room shut behind him Hiccup immediately began to feel awful about what he had done. Granted, he was pissed, but he didn't really know why. He didn't have a reason to be. So what if Jack had a girlfriend? It's not like they were friends either. He was Hiccup's trainer and nothing more. Hiccup walked over to the lockers and laid his forehead onto the cool surface, "Fuck…" he whispered as the reality and gravity of the situation began to dawn on him, resisting the urge to smack his head against the locker, "I really messed up." Hiccup assumed whatever friendship they were forming was now out the window.

Hiccup was still astonished how angry he had gotten over nothing. Normally when he was angry he didn't act like that, he would fume, yes, but not act like a complete ass. He released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and opened his locker and grabbed his phone. He shut his locker and walked out of the locker room and made his way to the front entrance, not bothering to figure out where Jack was at that moment. As he walked out he pulled up Astrid's number and called her only to have her answer a moment later, "Hiccup?"

Her voice sounded gruffer than normal from where she most likely had been woken up, "It's almost 2 a.m. is everything alright?"

"Astrid, I fucked up. I think Jack may hate me now," he said, almost panicked

"Wait, what? What happened?"

"He has a girlfriend, Astrid. Okay, it all started when I first got here. I went inside and he was talking to some girl and she looked at me like I was a nuisance and she was like all over Jack. And I don't know, she hugged him and kissed him and the next thing I know I am so angry. I don't know why. I don't know this guy well enough to be like this. Then I ended up snapping at him for no reason and threw a barbell and now I'm on the phone with you," he explained, exhaling a deep breath.

Astrid was quiet for a moment, trying to take this all in. She cleared her throat and sat up in her bed, "First off, Hiccup, you are over reacting. Secondly, you don't know if this girl is in fact his girlfriend. I mean did he say that's who she was? And thirdly, it's okay to be jealous. You like the guy."

Hiccup tensed up. He knew she was right even though he wouldn't admit he it that he was jealous, "No he didn't say it was his girlfriend, but Astrid, they looked pretty close to me, And who ever said I was jealous? I'm not jealous."

Astrid groaned in frustration, "Hiccup look at mine and your friendship, then look at that, what is the difference? Probably not a lot. And yes you are too jealous, because if you weren't I wouldn't be on the phone with you right now, I would still be asleep. Now, get your ass back in there and _apologize _and _get me my picture_."

He winced at the phone as Astrid's frustrated words rang against his eardrum. He knew she was right. He looked through the large windows and saw that Jack had taken his post at the front counter. He had a worried expression on his face and that made Hiccup feel even worse, "Okay, fine. You win. What am I going to say when I go back in there? I'm not good at lying."

The blonde was quiet for a moment. She hummed in thought before speaking up again, "Well, you don't really need to say anything, but if you want to explain yourself then just tell him you are fighting with your dad," she suggested.

"Thanks. I guess I'll go back in there now," he added in a mundane tone, getting a 'good luck' from his friend before she said, "Don't forget my picture!" and hung up.

Hiccup remained outside for a few minutes so he could practice what he was going to say. After taking in a deep breath and slowly exhaled it he walked back to the entrance and went inside. As he entered he looked to the front desk to see that Jack had vanished. Hiccup had heard the door creaking from the back of the gym so he followed the noise figuring it was his best bet to where his trainer had gone off to.

As he made his way to the back, Jack reappeared from behind the door, actually startled by not expecting to see Hiccup standing there, and gave a blank stare. Neither of them knew what to say, well Hiccup did, but he seemed too have lost the ability to speak at the moment. Jack pursed his lips as he stared at the auburn haired man before him and narrowed his eyes. But just as Hiccup opened his mouth to speak Jack held his hand up, stopping him, "Come with me," was all he said, motioning his hand, before disappearing behind the door once more.

Hiccup reluctantly followed him through the storage room out the back door that had been propped open. He was curious as to where his trainer was taking him but remained silent. Once outside, being greeted once more by the cool autumn air that chill his exposed arms and allowed him to see his breath, Jack turned to Hiccup and held his hand out toward the building. Hiccup followed the hand and noticed that there was a small ladder and he turned back to Hiccup, "Go on," he said, his thin lips curled into a smirk.

'_What the hell…_?'—"Why do you want me to go up there?" he asked.

"Not afraid of heights are you?"

"No," the younger male retorted, "I just don't know why you are wanting me to go up some rickety ass ladder."

Jack rolled his eyes, "I'm not going to throw you off the building if that's what you are thinking. Plus, I go up this ladder almost every day and it hasn't collapsed yet."

Hiccup scoffed, "Well thank you for that piece of relieving information."

Jack's hand fell to his side, "You will be fine. Just think of this as… a crazy trust exercise. If you want I'll be behind you and if you fall I will catch you."

It was Hiccup's turn to roll his eyes. He wanted to trust Jack. He didn't think the man would do anything intentionally to hurt him, or at least he hoped not, "Fine," he sighed, "but I better not die."

And with that Hiccup made his way up the ladder, Jack in tow. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit concerned. That ladder did look really old. Once at the top, Hiccup stepped onto the roof and realized what a wonderful view there was. Even though it was dark, the street lamps revealed a part of Burgess he didn't think was ever there. The city lights made it seem as if it were glowing. The serene silence was peaceful. Around this time there was hardly, if any, traffic. The sounds of a light wind and crickets were really the only noises.

Hiccup jumped when he felt a hand land on his shoulder and looked behind him to see Jack smiling at him, "I come up here a lot. The view really calms me," he told him as he made his way to the edge, "If I ever need to clear my head, a few hours on the roof helps me clear my head."

Hiccup approached the bi-color haired man, "Listen," he began rubbing habitually at his neck, "I'm sorry about earlier. I, uh… was arguing with my dad," he lied.

Jack merely shook his head, "You don't have to explain anything to me. I figured something was wrong way before you snapped at me."

Hiccup felt his cheeks heat up. He was actually very glad that they were I outside where it was darker so Jack wouldn't see it. He felt bad for lying, but the truth would have been far more embarrassing, "I'm still sorry. It was really uncalled for."

"Apology accepted," he said with a half-smile, "At least you have a parent to argue with. I lost that luxury a long time ago. I mean, I still kinda argue with my quote-unquote 'adopted father', North—the owner of this gym—but my biological parents, not so much."

Hiccup frowned, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," he gave a weak smile that quickly vanished, "That's how I got my blue eye. I was with them when they wrapped their car around a tree."

"I'm really sorry to hear that, Jack," Hiccup said just above a whisper. He knew that pain all too well. He remembered Jack mentioning how he woke up from an accident and had a blue eye. He remembered the sad look on his face and how he quickly changed the subject. He understood now why he didn't want to talk about it. He still had problems talking about his mother and she had died almost seven years ago. Except, in Hiccup's case, it was not only the pain of losing his mother that hurt, it was the thought of how she would see him now after all that had happened that hurt him.

"It's okay. I have moved forward. I don't think I'll ever get over it, but I think I lived in the past long enough," he said.

"Um, Jack, if you don't mind me asking… why are you telling me this?"

"Isn't that what friends do? They share things about themselves," he answered with a flash of his pearly whites.

"Friends?"

"Well, that's what I thought anyways," this sounded almost like a question.

Hiccup flashed him a crooked smile, "No, that sounds fine with me. I don't have any friends in the area, but I also haven't been here too long either."

Jacked chuckled, "Well, I'm glad to be the one to pop your 'Burgess Friend Cherry'."—'_Maybe I can pop another—wait what?'_ He thought, feeling his face flush, earning a laugh from Hiccup, "So, do you wanna give working out another go or do you wanna hang out up here for a bit?"

Hiccup carded his fingers through his hair, "Well, we can give it another go, but would it be okay if I stayed up here for a bit longer?"

Jack nodded, "Yeah, take as long as you need," he said as he made his way to the ladder, but stopped in his tracks when he heard Hiccup call out to him.

"You don't have to go."

Jack's smiled got bigger, "Alright," he said coming back over to Hiccup and sat on the edge of roof. Jack looked up at him and patted the spot next to him. The auburn haired lad accepted the invitation and sat down next to the trainer. They stayed quiet for a while, just staring off into the distance before them, enjoying each other's company. Hiccup stuck his hand into his pocket, trying to warm his hands some. Even though the cold didn't really bother him since he was from Berk and they were known for their harsh winters. Hiccup often described Berk as being "twelve days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death".

Jack's eyes stayed forward, though he was able to see Hiccup through his peripheral, he didn't want to be caught looking at him. Even though Hiccup had apologized for his verbal tongue lashing earlier, he couldn't help but wonder what really set him off. Jack was not a fool, he knew that Hiccup was lying when he said he was arguing with his father, but he chose to remain silent about it because he figured it was none of his business. He liked Hiccup, there was something about him that drew his attention to the young man, even though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He just knew that he definitely wanted to be friends with him.

Hiccup seemed like the type of person who wasn't really good at making friends. His self-esteem was low and his defenses seemed to always be up. Jack hoped that he would be able to help out with that. His self-esteem wasn't always great, especially when he was younger. Maybe this was his way of paying it forward? North, Aster, and a few others helped him out; what better way of repaying it than helping someone else?

As Hiccup sat quietly, he began to fiddle with his phone that was in his pocket. He rolled his eyes when he remembered that Astrid wanted a picture of Jack,_ 'Great. How am I supposed to do this? He's going to think I'm a creep for asking him for a picture.'_ Hiccup shifted slightly and angled himself a bit more towards the older man_, 'Maybe if I act like I am playing with my phone I can snap a quick one.'_

Hiccup bit his lower lip as his unlocked the screen and pulled up his camera, slowing turning it in Jack's direction. He was glad the parking lot lights were bright so he was able to see him on the screen. A small smile spread across his features as he pressed the button and snapped a picture. However, Jack could help but noticed the very bright flash from where the brunette forgot to shut it off. His head snapped to the direction and saw Hiccup looking at him with an 'oh-shit' look plastered across his face and his freckled cheeks glowing a bright pink, "I'm sorry," he said softly.

Jack's grin returned, "Sneaky little thing, you. Didn't even bother asking me," he said with fake offense.

"I'll erase it. I just…" he groaned in frustration, "my friend. I was talking about you to my friend and she wanted to see what you looked like."

Jack shifted closer to the other male, "Well, are you sure your _friend_ wanted a picture of me or is it for your own private collection?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Don't flatter yourself too much, Frosty. It's not for me."—'_Well, not for only me_'

"Frosty?" he asked before shaking the nickname off, "Well, I tell you what, how about I give you a more flattering angle? Ya know, since I now know that you are actually taking it now. Gimme your phone."

Jack held out his hand and Hiccup reluctantly handed the device over. He then moved closer to the smaller male and wrapped his arm around him. Hiccup shot him a look of confusion, "What are you doing?"

"I don't expect to be in the picture all by myself," he replied, leaning in closer to Hiccup, their faces almost touching. The brunette felt his cheeks heat up more. He had never been this close to Jack. Hiccup could smell his scent; it reminded him of pine trees and a hint of peppermint. It was almost like he embodied winter itself. Hiccup wrapped his skinny arm around Jack's shoulder and looked up at the camera before Jack hit the shutter button and a blinding flash erupted from the phone. But before he was handed his phone back, Jack snapped a quick selfie, "There, ya go. Wanna head on back in?"

Hiccup nodded and shoved his phone back into his pocket and came to his feet, "Oh, one more thing."

Jack stopped and turned back to him, "Lemme guess, you want a kiss too?"

"What?!"

The two-toned haired man burst into a fit of laughter, "Oh, my god! Your face was priceless! Hahaha! I'm kidding, what's up?"

Hiccup was dumbfounded. He honestly was at a loss of words for a moment before composing himself, "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime… you know… that's not here. Like, I don't know, a movie or something?" Hiccup knew he was obviously blushing. He was stumbling over his words like an idiot.

"Sure, sounds like fun. I actually have a great place to go. What day did you have in mind?"

Hiccup was quiet for a moment. He honestly didn't think he'd get this far, "How about Thursday or Friday?"

"Hmm, well, I have practice on Thursday, but you actually don't live that far from Aster. I could give you the address and we can meet there or if you want I could just pick you up once I'm done. It's really up to you," he replied.

"Would he be okay with you giving a total stranger his address?" he asked.

Jack laughed, "I'll tell him you are my date for the evening," his dark eyebrows wagged at Hiccup whose face was glowing brilliantly at this point, "Relax I'm kidding. Are you always this serious?"

"According to my friend, Astrid, yes," he answered with a small shrug, "Well, let's head in."

* * *

**I hoped you liked this chapter. We got to dig into Jack's and North's past a bit. I hope I'm not making this too depressing. Just think of it as: despite their losses and sorrows, together they are helping each other heal.**

**Also, for those of you who didn't watch DreamWorks' Dragons: Riders of Berk, Heather was a character from the episodes The Heather Report Parts 1 & 2. If you haven't watched the series I strongly suggest you do, it's fabulous. **

**In the next chapter I will be introducing a few more characters. Sandy is one of them. I am trying to find ways of making Hiccup not such a bland character. So in the next chapter Jack and Hiccup are going to start revealing more about themselves while on their "date".**

**Any suggestions? Spot any mistakes? Questions? Comments?**

**Reviews are not required, but much appreciated. **


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